Evolutionary Crisis
by stAte
Summary: Congress has passed a new bill that outlaws mutants. Now the X-Men must face new challenges that are more real than ever. But in the midst of the danger, new relationships are blooming & old ones are changing. The X-Mens lives can never be the same again.
1. Prologue

First off, I don't own the X-Men. If I did, this wouldn't be a fanfiction. It'd be an actual storyline.

Second, this is my first fanfic ever, so don't expect too much greatness from it, though I happen to be pleased with it.

Third, please review this thing. I mean, it'd be great to know someone out there read at least one chapter.

Enjoy!

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"These evolutionary disasters, these _'mutants,' _are a threat not only to the safety of American families, but also to our national security and our very way of life!"

Senator Kelly's voice resonated nicely off the walls of the US Senate. He smiled as he paused for a drink of water. He had this room right where he wanted it.

"Our culture, our society, the very core of all that is dear to Americans is under attack by the mutant crisis. What is to stop them from using their 'powers' against us? There are some of them who fire lasers from their bodies. Gun control is a thing of the past because people are now the guns! What's to stop them from forming teams and attacking us? They could overthrow our government. We, as senators and upholders of the law, would likely be killed by these savage monsters in an attempt to prove their superiority over us! That is why I am proposing the adoption of the Anti-Mutant Act. According to this act, all mutants in the United States are to be rounded up and detained in camps scattered around the United States. Here, they will be used as a work force to increase production of valuable products that will later be sold, thus advancing our national economy. They see life as a war between them and us, and so we must make them prisoners of war. And make no mistake about it senators, we are at war. I have information in my hands right now that tells of a secret group of mutants known as the X-Men who have learned to use their powers as weapons against anyone that may oppose them. Will we let mutants overrun our great country, gentlemen? For our children's sake, I certainly hope not."

Senator Kelly stepped down from the podium as his peers applauded his speech. Now it was time for the vote. Kelly had been preparing for this for months. He had made deals with friends as well as with people he hated. If everything went according to plan, his act would pass easily.

*****

Senator Kelly smiled broadly to himself as he walked through the doors of the Senate chamber. Those senators around him congratulated him on his great speech.

"Impressive performance, Robert. You got my vote."

"Way to go, Bob."

"Wasn't that your first bill to get approved, Robert? Congrats."

Senator Kelly smiled and thanked them, then turned and headed for his office with his assistant by his side.

"Where's my phone?" he asked.

"Right here, sir."

He dialed a quick number, then put it against his face.

"General, we have approval. You know what to do. That's right, the Xavier Institute is our first target. I want those mutants gone by sundown."


	2. Crisis Point!

__

Here they stood. Four mutants gathered together in a small circle, surrounded by the dark forest that encompassed them. Scott, Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt were all there. Their clothes were ripped and their bodies ached. They didn't know where anyone else was. Well, that's not exactly true. They knew exactly where Evan was. In fact, it was all they could think about. It had been a long day, and though the day was finally over, the repercussions of it were still ahead and not one of them was sure how to handle it. After what seemed like hours of silence, Scott spoke up. 

"I don't know what to say guys. You did a great job today. The professor would be proud."

"Does anyone, like, know where we are?" squeaked Kitty nervously. The others were glad to hear her say something. None of them had talked much that afternoon, but Kitty had been extra quiet ever since… 

"No clue." said Kurt. "But I'm zure zomeone'll find uz soon."

"Fat chance!" snarled Rogue. "We're gonna be here awhile."

"Fighting isn't gonna do any good now. You guys get some sleep. I'll take the first watch," suggested Scott. No one objected. 

Scott turned around to face the woods. He couldn't sleep if he wanted to, not without knowing where Jean was or if she was safe. Besides, he couldn't forget what he'd seen that afternoon. He would never forget that sight. It had been a long day and he prepared himself for a longer night.

*****

The alarm woke him up at 6:30 as it did every day. He sat up in bed without opening his eyes, then grabbed his glasses from the nightstand. Once they were on, he looked around. He yawned. "I've got to start setting that thing to go off a little later," he muttered to himself. Then he remembered why he set it so early today. Normally Scott stayed in the mansion during the day. Ever since he graduated from Bayville High he had been an instructor at the mansion. But today he was going to the school with all the others. One of his old teachers had asked him to come back and give a presentation to her classes and so Scott would be back in his alma mater for one day.

Morning in the mansion was hectic to say the least. Everyone ran back and forth, no one quite awake. Breakfast was normally a quick bowl of cereal before rushing out the door to get to school. Kurt, the only one of the mansion's inhabitants that was a morning person, was in the dining hall annoying everyone with his chipper personality. 

Scott slid out the door quickly, not quite in the mood to see anyone. Jean was still missing. She and Storm had left 4 days earlier to recruit a new mutant that lived in Atlanta. They were supposed to be back 2 days ago. Cerebro couldn't find them and Scott was worried, though not willing to let everyone see it.

He smiled as he listened to his car start with a roar and then slip into a soothing purr. _This is the only way to travel,_ he thought to himself.

He got to the school just in time and headed to his old classroom where Mrs. Williams was waiting on him. They greeted each other and Scott went to the front of the class to set up for his presentation. For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling about this. He was worried about the people who used to give him a hard time being in his class today. He didn't want to look stupid in front of people he used to go to school with. _Jean was always popular. She wouldn't be worried about this…_ "Don't think about that right now," he muttered under his breath.

Lunch came at 11:30. The day was going well so far. No one had given him a hard time or anything. They had all just been glad to have an easy day in class for once. Scott went out to the courtyard and sat down next to Kurt at their old table and joined in the conversation about the big game in a couple days. He began to eat, but was stopped when he heard the Professor's voice in his mind. "Scott, you must get the others and come back to the mansion now. Don't waste time! Come as fast as you can!" 

__

The Professor has never contacted me at school like this before. Something must be really wrong. Let's see then, where is everyone?

He looked around the table. Kurt, Evan, and Kitty were there. They all stood up having clearly received the same message. Where was Rogue? He scanned the courtyard. _She's here somewhere._ He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Ah just got a wire from the professor ta find ya," said Rogue's voice from behind.

"Yeah, we gotta get to the mansion, now. C'mon!"

The five mutants took off toward the parking lot and Scott's car. They slipped past the lot attendant, jumped in the sleek convertible, and took off.

"Like, does anyone know what's, like, going on?" asked Kitty as Scott took corners a little too fast.

"Not a clue, but the Professor said to head for the mansion so that's what we're doing," replied Scott.

He turned into the drive up to the mansion and slammed on the brakes. There were two tanks blocking the drive and soldiers running everywhere.

"What's goin' on?" said Rogue.

"Beats me, but I think ve'd best move or else ve're gonna be in zerious trouble," said Kurt.

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Scott, shifting the car to reverse. He turned around to watch behind him as he hit the gas but slammed on the brakes again when an army jeep loaded with soldiers came around the bend and blocked his path.

The soldiers piled out of the jeep as the man in the passenger seat, clearly a superior, stood and shouted towards them. "Get out of the car now and put your hands on your head! You're under arrest by the United States government!" 

Everyone did as they were told. "Get on the ground!" shouted the soldiers. Scott looked at the man in the jeep and shouted back. 

"What's going on? We're citizens! We haven't done anything wrong!"

"Yer not citizens, yer mutants!" snarled the general. "And, as of eleven o' clock this morning, your kind have been outlawed by the United States Congress. Every mutant is to be rounded up and detained! If you resist, you will be killed! Now hit the dirt, mutant!"

The five teenagers exchanged quick looks, then moved as close together as possible. Kurt wrapped his arms around them and they all closed their eyes. When they opened them again, they were standing inside the mansion.

"What was that about?!" exclaimed Evan. "They can't do that!"

"They did," responded Scott. "And there's nothing we can do about it. Right now, we have to disappear. But first, Kurt, get me to my room. I need something."

The two boys vanished, then reappeared moments later with a radio and Scott's visor. 

"All right, let's go."

They heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Scott stepped towards the rest of the group as Kurt once again wrapped his arms around them. The door behind them opened and they heard the startled voice of a soldier yelling orders at them. Then the soldier blurred from their view.

They looked around to find themselves in the woods around the mansion. "What now?" asked Kitty.

"Well, uh, let me think about that one," replied Scott clumsily. "The Professor is either captured or hiding, and since Logan was with him, I'd say hiding is the better guess. Mr. McCoy is on vacation in the northeast and shouldn't be back for a few weeks. Jean and Storm are still missing…"

Suddenly, Scott's heart sank. _Jean! She's already missing and now the government is hunting us down! What if they… no, I have to concentrate on this right now. These guys are all looking to you, Scott. Time to step up and be a leader here. You can do this._

"Are you okay?" asked Rogue. "Ya turned all white. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Scott assured here while shaking his head. "I'm fine. Now we have to get off the grounds of the mansion or we'll be caught in no time. Follow me!" Scott ran towards the perimeter of the grounds as everyone else followed him. 

__

Where are you, Jean? Professor? I need someone. I don't know what to do or where to go and they're relying on me. How could this happen? The government is rounding up every mutant? This whole thing just doesn't make sense! What the…?!

Just as they all got through the gates of the grounds, the forest exploded to their left. Trees and dirt flew everywhere and smoke blurred their vision. Scott looked up to find a Sentinel hovering over them. The gigantic robot had fired a huge beam at them and missed by only a few yards.

"Run!" yelled Scot. They couldn't fight the thing here. Not now with soldiers everywhere, they'd be captured for sure!

The group took off into the woods. They sprinted through the trees, jumping rocks and fallen limbs and dodging attacks from the mutant-hunting monster behind them. 

__

A sentinel?! The government must be serious about this anti-mutant thing if they're employing these types of insane methods. There's no way we can outrun that thing! I have to do something!

Scott made up his mind, whipped around, planted his feet, and sent an optic blast hurtling up towards the Sentinel. The blast connected perfectly, hitting the robot in its chest and temporarily knocking out its largest laser. _Maybe that helped,_ he thought as he turned to run again.

Scott ran ahead to find that Kurt had stopped to wait on him.

"How far are ve from the mansion?" asked Kurt.

Scott thought for a moment. "Probably a mile and half. Far enough that there aren't any soldiers around anymore. I hate to say it, but we have to fight that thing!"

"Right!" said Kurt. "Zere's a clearing about anozer half mile ahead. It'd make a good place to vight."

"Then let's go there."

"I'll tell ze ozers."

Kurt vanished in a flash of smoke and Scott began running as hard as he could. 

__

I don't know if we can beat that thing, but there's no other way!

Finally, Scott reached the clearing where Rogue, Kitty, Evan, and Kurt were waiting. He turned around and watched as the Sentinel emerged over the trees and landed in the clearing.

"Let's do this!" Scott yelled as he fired a beam, just missing the robot's shoulder.

Evan began firing spikes at the Sentinel while Kurt tried to keep its attention. He bamfed back and forth across the clearing attracting the Sentinel's fire. Scott spent most of his time blasting missiles out of the air. Rogue and Kitty stayed hidden in the brush realizing that there was little they could do for the time being.

An explosion and a cry of pain behind Scott told him that Kurt had finally been too slow in dodging the missiles. He looked back to check on him.

"Are you alright?!"

"Ugh. Jah, I'm fine! Don't vorry about me!"

Suddenly, the ground ripped open in front of Scott's feet and flames shot everywhere. He had turned around for three seconds and the Sentinel took advantage of it. He landed 10 feet away hurt, but okay.

__

Stupid, Scott. That was really stupid. No more mistakes.

He fired another blast at the Sentinel and went back to knocking out missiles.

Evan was still shooting spikes at the Sentinel and making some progress. He had managed to knock out most of the guns on its body and had apparently managed to rip into the outer skin on its left leg, causing a few sparks to fly from the damaged hull. It became obvious that the Sentinel was turning its attention to Evan. Scott tried to divert its attention back to him, but it was no use. Every missile fired, every beam discharged were all heading straight toward Evan. Scott was able to knock out all the missiles, but the lasers were a different story. Evan would just have to dodge those, which he was doing a good job of so far, even managing to shoot out a few spikes in the process.

Then a laser landed directly in front of Scott, knocking him off his feet in surprise. Scott jumped back up, but was too late. Explosion after explosion ripped through the clearing, flames engulfing the area Evan had been occupying.

__

Oh no! I've really done it this time. Please be okay, Evan.

Scott watched the smoke, blasting the Sentinel at the same time. The haze began to clear slowly, but there were no signs of movement. No spikes flying from the cloud.

__

This is bad. This is really bad. Its all your fault if something's happened, Scott.

The fog finally lifted and there it was. Something lay crumpled on the ground. Scott saw Kurt flash beside it, pick it up, and disappear again.

__

Kurt didn't hesitate. He just picked him up and got out of there. He must be okay or Kurt would've done something. That's it, Sentinel. No more playing around!

"Kurt! Kitty! C'mere!" Scott yelled while blasting the face on the Sentinel.

Scott turned to Kurt. "Get us on its shoulder!" 

Kurt held his two friends close and then they felt the wind whip against them and heard the clanging metal beneath their feet.

"Thanks Kurt. Now see to Evan."

Scott grabbed Kitty's hand. "Lets drop in."

The two lowered slowly through the metal shoulder and landed on a platform 8 feet below that had been left by the builders of the killing machine.

"Alright, its time to show this thing what we can do," said Scott.

He began blasting in every direction, ripping the Sentinel apart from the inside. Kitty phased in and out of the machinery, always emerging from the metal hunks with some sort of gear or motor in her hands. Before long, they began to feel the vibration of the Sentinel falling apart.

"Let's go!" said Scott, grabbing Kitty's hand again.

"Like, definitely!" said Kitty as they leapt out of the machine.

Kurt saw his friends emerge from the Sentinel's shoulder and immediately teleported up to them, then brought them down to the edge of the forest where an exasperated Rogue was kneeling over Evan, who was lying face-up on the ground. They watched as the Sentinel convulsed and finally blew up, spraying the clearing with flames and hunks of metal.

"That was close," said Scott. He pointed to Evan. "How's he doing?"

Kurt and Rogue exchanged nervous looks. 

"Uh, not vell," said Kurt. "He, uh, vell, I don't know how…" He trailed off as Scott looked down at Evan.

"No," uttered Scott. "No, this can't be happening."

Evan's body was badly burnt and it was clear that he'd been knocked around pretty hard by the explosions.

"He landed on a rock." Kurt explained. "It paralyzed him immediately. Ven I got him over here, he told me he couldn't move. He asked if it looked bad. I lied to him. Told him he'd be fine. He tried to lift hiz head to see for himself but he couldn't lift it enough to zee. He was in pain and begged uz to help him. It vas obvious zat he vouldn't make it in the long run, but ve zought he might barely hold on to life for a few days. Zey vouldn't have been good days zough. Zey vould have been painful and zlow. He begged us to take ze pain avay, so…"

"So ah held his hand til he slipped off." Rogue said somberly, finishing Kurt's sentence. "Then ah used those spikes o' his ta fight that dumb robot!" Rogue's eyes began to tear up. "Ya can't jus' kill someone and 'spect ta get away with it." Fury and grief filled Rogue's eyes as she spoke. Kurt cleared his throat as Kitty sobbed lightly on Scott's left.

Scott stared at the scene in disbelief. Evan was gone. An X-man was dead, killed in battle. He couldn't believe it. He made a silent vow. As long as he lived, this would never happen again.

They all stood in silence, staring at the body for only minutes, but it seemed like days.

Finally, Scott spoke up. "I hate to say it, but we better move. Soldiers will be getting here soon and we need to be long gone when that happens. As for Evan, I hate it but we can't bring him along. We'll have to leave the body here."

"What?!" exclaimed Rogue. "Ya can't be serious! We're jus' gonna leave his dead body layin' aroun' on the ground?!"

"Do you wanna carry it?" Scott asked. "I hate it too, but taking him with us will just slow us down and we can't afford that. I'm sorry."

After a short prayer from Kurt on Evan's behalf, the remaining X-men covered Evan's body so it wouldn't be found by the army, then left the blazing battlefield. Scott stopped and looked back at the broken body laying before him. 

"We'll be back, Evan. I promise."

With that, they retreated into the woods.

*****

Scott toyed with the radio as everyone else fell asleep. Wherever the Professor and Logan were, they weren't answering him. Neither were Jean or Storm. Somehow, Jean's silence was more disturbing than the professor's. His only voice of reason had been missing for 4 days and he had no idea where she was. She had promised him that it'd only be a short trip.

He grew tired of dealing with the radio and threw it to the ground. The darkness grew tighter every second. He could hear the crickets chirping and he thought there might be an owl just to the west. Every sound closed in on him. Every sight pressed against him with claustrophobic intensity. He had never felt more alone. He looked back at the others. They had done great, but ironically, none of them had fought as well as Evan. 

__

Evan. Why was he gone? Why couldn't it have been Scott who died today? Why was he still here and Evan dead?

"Apparently I still have work to do." Scott said to himself, unconvinced. "My work isn't over. His was. Besides, I wouldn't want to leave Jean behind."

Then he remembered. _Jean_. Where was she? Was she okay? Had she been captured?

All he could think about was Evan and Jean. He sat on the dark hillside, staring at the small fire they had built at dusk. He sat, and stared, and thought.

He jumped when Kurt tapped his shoulder.

"Hey Scott? You okay? You're kinda zoned out."

"Huh? Yeah, I'll be alright."

"Vhy don't you let me take over the vatch for a while? I can't sleep anyvay."

"Sure. Sounds fine Kurt."

Scott stood up and went towards where Kitty and Rogue were lying, both of them asleep, but neither peaceful. He laid down and slowly drifted off.

*****

He awoke without opening his eyes. Scott reached over to the nightstand to grab his glasses, but was surprised to find nothing but dirt and rocks. Then he remembered. He reached towards his waist where he had left his visor. Once it was on, he finally opened his eyes and looked around.

Everyone else was already awake. The fire had burned out. It was almost like they were on a normal camping trip. 

Almost.

"You're up!" came Kurt's voice. "Ve zought ve'd let you sleep az long az you vanted."

"Thanks," Scott said. "So, what have you guys been doing all morning?"

"Not much," replied Kitty. "We, like, didn't really know what we should do, y'know?"

__

Yeah. I know the feeling.

"Well, I guess we should keep moving. We need to find a town and get some food and new clothes. You guys ready to go?"

"Yeah," said the other three in unison.

They all got up and began walking back into the woods, following Scott.


	3. What Now?

The bell announced the arrival of new customers. The old store owner looked up and found three teenagers, one boy and two girls, walking into his store. His first thought was that they oughta be in school. Then he really looked at them for the first time. Their clothes were ripped to shreds and their bodies were pretty bruised up. There was dried blood on their clothes and they looked hungry.

"Are you kids alright?" he asked.

"We're fine. We're looking for some clothes and food though. Can you help us out?" said the boy. The man looked at him closer and realized that what he had thought were sunglasses were in fact some strange sort of visor.

"These trends nowadays," he chuckled to himself. "Yeah, I can help you. There's clothes over there in the corner and I can make you some fresh sandwiches right here in the store."

"Thanks. That'd be great," said the boy.

The man began fixing 3 sandwiches as the kids went and started looking at the clothes. He debated if he should say anything, but his curiosity finally prevailed.

"What happened to you kids? You're in pretty bad shape."

The three figures looked at each other. After a moment, the boy answered. "We were in a car wreck last night in the woods. We're okay, but we're just still a little rattled I guess."

"Oh," said the old man. "Have you seen a doctor or anything? How's your car? Do you need my phone to call your folks?"

"No, thank you. We'll be okay if we just get some new clothes and some food in our stomachs," replied the boy.

"What about you girls? Do you need anything?" asked the man, now growing suspicious. Their story just wasn't fitting together quite right.

"Nah," replied one of the girls. She had dark hair, but it was almost white in the very front. "We'll be fine as long as we get some food, like he said."

"Yeah, like she said," insisted the other girl.

"Okay, if you insist," said the man, still not convinced but not wishing to pry. They brought their new clothes to the counter and he rang up the total.

"Let's see now, that'll be $35 for the three sandwiches and four changes of clothing." The man looked up at the teenagers and counted them again. Yes, there were definitely only three of them. "Did you kids grab more clothes than you meant to?"

"No," said the boy again. "We have a friend outside watching our stuff. We'll need one more sandwich for him too."

"Oh, okay. That's $37 then."

The boy produced a wallet and pulled out the money. As the teenagers left the store, the old man watched and wondered what the truth about them was. He could tell they had lied to him the whole time.

"Kids!" thought the man. "No respect for their elders anymore."

*****

Scott, Kitty, and Rogue emerged from the store and walked back down the road for a little bit, then turned off into the woods. They went through the trees until they got to the spot where they had left Kurt. The blue boy was sitting on a fallen tree waiting for them.

"Finally! Vas took zo long?" asked Kurt.

Scott tossed him a sandwich. "Sorry, the guy in there was asking a lot of questions that are kinda hard to answer."

"Yeah, like who we are and why our clothes are destroyed!" exclaimed Kitty.

"Vell, you could 'ave been a little fazter. I'm ztarving!" Kurt ripped open the sandwich and devoured it in 4 bites.

"I swear, Kurt, can't ya slow down an eat like a normal person just once?"

"Zorry, but I 'ave a high metabolizm. Zo vat elze did ja bring me?"

"Here's some new pants and a shirt for you, although it doesn't really matter if you try to blend in or not since your image inducer is broken. I doubt a blue devil is gonna be accepted by people whether he's wearing pants or not!" laughed Scott. 

"Ha, very vunny," said Kurt sarcastically as he took the clothes. His inducer had stopped working when the Sentinel hit him during the fight.

"Maybe if we, like, took you to visit Duke University. They might like you there!" giggled Kitty.

Scott and Kurt both stared at Kitty blankly, then groaned when they finally got it.

"Kitty, that's got to be the worst joke I've ever heard," said Kurt. "I'm officially revoking your speaking privileges for the day!" he joked.

"Hey! That's totally not fair!" said Kitty, now fully laughing.

Rogue stared blankly at her three friends. "Huh? Duke University? I don't get it."

Kurt stifled a laugh.

"Don't worry about it," said Scott. "It wasn't funny."

"Fine, but I still don't get it," said Rogue, glaring at Kurt.

Once everyone had finished eating and changing clothes, they all sat down in the small campsite they had rigged up to make plans for what to do next.

"Okay, so does anyone, like, have any idea where we need to be going?" asked Kitty.

"Nope," said Kurt quickly.

"Well," started Scott, "maybe. The question to ask is where would the professor and Logan go? I think it's safe to assume that they escaped the mansion when the soldiers arrived there. They probably took the Blackbird. So the question is, where would they go? Wherever they are, that's where we should head."

"Those two could be anywhere!" said Rogue.

"What about Storm and Jean? We know they went to Atlanta, right? Why don't we, like, try to get there?" proposed Kitty.

Rogue and Kurt stared at her in amazement. Scott suddenly began studying the ground in front of his feet.

"Are you zeriouz? How do you intend to get to Atlanta?!" asked Kurt. He loved being around Kitty and she certainly was very smart but she had her moments when all common sense just flew out the window.

"Oh, well, uh, I guess I didn't think of that!" said Kitty, laughing. "Oh well, nevermind!"

Rogue shook her head. That was probably the dumbest thing she had ever heard. She looked over at Scott, who was clearly deep in thought. She instantly realized what he was thinking about and looked back at Kitty and Kurt who were having a great laugh at Kitty's expense. Rogue hated to see Scott like this. She hated to see him sad, but more specifically, she hated to see him longing for Jean. She had wondered many nights why Jean had to always be between her and Scott. She sighed. That would probably never change.

Scott looked up at his friends and smiled. "Okay guys, here's how I see it. There's a town 5 miles west of here that the professor has always told me would be a good spot to land the Blackbird if, for some reason, I wasn't able to come back to the mansion. It's a small town, but the reason the professor liked it so much is because there's a huge empty area just outside of town. The Blackbird could touch down there without being seen and then we could leave it there while we went into town to get supplies and contact the mansion. I vote we head for that town. Maybe Logan and the professor will be there."

"Okay, zoundz great!" said Kurt. Kitty and Rogue also nodded their approval and the decision was made.

"Well then, we might as well get on," said Scott as he stood up slowly. His legs were sore from all the walking they had done combined with the lack of sleep. Everyone else groaned as they stood up, clearly feeling the same sore muscles that Scott was.

"Ah think Ah'll listen next time Logan starts tellin' me how I need to exercise more. Ah can't hardly move!" said an exasperated Rogue.

"Yeah, like, me too!" exclaimed Kitty.

"Alright guys, let's go!" Scott said in a failed attempt at energy.

The four mutants began slowly marching through the forest towards their new destination, hoping to meet Logan and the professor. At this point though, the way things were going, none of them truly expected to meet anyone once they got there.


	4. Mansion Under Attack

"…and the Cubs beat the Astros last night 3-1, placing them 1½ games ahead in the NL Central with only a handful of games left in the regular season. Now moving to politics…"

Logan turned off the TV. 24 hour news coverage and they were yet to find something worth 24 hours of broadcasting! It was amazing. But he needed something to keep him busy while the kids were at school. He enjoyed being alone more than most people but, though he'd never admit it, he was beginning to feel lonely when the kids weren't running around the mansion. Here it was only 10:30 in the morning and he was already bored out of his mind! He pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and opened it with his claws.

"Ah, Logan. Nice day, isn't it?" came the voice of Xavier as he rolled into the kitchen where Logan was standing.

"Huh, yeah Chuck. It's great out there." He took a drink from his beer. "Any luck finding Storm or Jean yet?" he asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no. I'm afraid we may have a serious situation on our hands if they don't return tonight."

"I'm worried about those two, Chuck. It's not like 'em to just stay gone and not tell nobody."

"I know. If they don't come back tonight, I was hoping that you'd be willing to go look for them?"

"No problem, Chuck."

"Thank you, Logan." The poured a cup of coffee and rolled over to sit next to Logan. "Is there anything interesting on TV today?"

"Nah, not really. Just the regular news. They keep saying the same things everyday. Heh, They call it news, but there's never anything new!"

Xavier turned on the TV. The screen warmed up for a second, then CNN appeared. Xavier sipped his coffee, then quickly spit it back into the cup.

"I see you made the coffee this morning, Logan."

Logan chuckled. "Yeah, I still can't figure out to how to make a decent pot. I don't know how you can drink that stuff anyway, Chuck. I can't stand it." He took another drink from his beer. "Ah. Now that's a drink."

"Yes, well, until Storm gets back, why don't you let me make the coffee," said Xavier as he poured the contents of his cup down the drain.

"Heh, Whatever you say, Chuck."

The two men turned their attention to the TV where the CNN anchorman was giving the day's political news.

"And rumors are flying on Capitol Hill that Congress has just passed a new bill concerning the Mutant Crisis. We'll have more details on that when they are released. And now, here's our resident chef, Guy Williams, with some tasty ideas for your next tailgate party. Guy?"

"A new bill on mutants? That could either be bad or good depending on who supports it," said Xavier, thinking aloud.

"No telling. I'm betting its not good though. You know how those politicians are. They think we're all a bunch of weapons just waiting to go off."

"And for some mutants, they're right. However, they seem to enjoy lumping us all together. I certainly hope that clearer heads prevailed today in Washington."

They watched the man in the oversized chef's hat as he gave his favorite recipe for bratwurst. Finally, the newsdesk was back on the screen and the anchorman announced that the President was about to address the nation.

"Here we go," said Logan.

"My fellow Americans," came the voice from the TV, "today the Congress reached a solution to the Mutant Crisis facing our great nation. I'm proud to announce the passing of the Anti-Mutant Act."

"That don't sound good," said Logan as he sat down next to Xavier.

"Quiet!" scolded the Professor.

"As we all know, mutants are a threat to our safety and our future. It is the government's consensus that action must be taken on this issue. According to this new bill, all mutants in the United States are to be rounded up and detained in camps around the United States. They will be used as a controlled work force that will help to further our nation's economy. The government is aware of some highly dangerous mutants and groups of mutants that are being taken into custody as we speak. However, we do not know the whereabouts of every mutant. So, we are asking you, the American citizens, to report any mutant living within our borders. There is a hotline number at the bottom of this screen and you can also find it on the government's website. If you know of a mutant living in America, please report it to us. You can do so anonymously and free of charge. Thank you, and God bless America."

Xavier turned the TV off immediately after the President's speech ended.

"Okay," said Logan slowly as he stood up, "that's bad."

"Yes, and what worries me is that we know that the government is aware of us."

Logan stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the Professor. "The kids! They're at school. Surely they wouldn't send troops into a high school, right, Chuck?!"

"I don't know, but I suspect that they would. I'll have them come back to the mansion just in case. At least if we must fight here, we won't hurt anyone else." Xavier closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them. "They should be here in a matter of minutes."

Logan began pacing back and forth. "This is really horrible timing, Chuck! What with Jean and Storm already missing. How do we know they haven't been 'detained' already?"

"We must have faith in their skills, Logan."

Logan just grunted as he continued to pace across the room. Suddenly, he whirled around in mid-step and ran to the windows, sniffing the air deeply.

"What's wrong?" asked the professor.

Wolverine grunted. "We got company. They'll be here any minute now."

The Professor rolled over to the window and watched the horizon. Soon, he heard the unmistakable roar of approaching helicopters.

*****

"Target acquired, sir!" yelled the pilot over the noise of the Blackhawk helicopter.

"Good. Get me down in that courtyard in front of the house!" replied General Clark. He then pulled out his radio and yelled orders to the other helicopters flying in formation with his. "That's right. Prisoners only. Do not kill unless they fight back. If they're that stupid, then send them to Hell!"

*****

Xavier watched the military helicopters land on his lawn as soldiers poured out and ran towards the mansion.

"We really should be moving towards the Blackbird," came the gruff voice of Logan as he emerged from the hallway with his Wolverine suit on.

"Yes, you're right. Let's go."

Xavier turned his wheelchair towards the door and began moving from the room with Logan right behind him. The window behind them shattered as a fully armed soldier swung through it on a rope.

"Freeze! Both of you, on the ground!" yelled the soldier.

Wolverine whirled around and grunted. "_You_ hit the ground, bub." He charged the soldier with a primal yell and extended his claws through his chest.

He retracted his claws and turned back to Xavier. "It just got more interestin'. Let's go!" growled Wolverine as he fan towards the door. 

Xavier followed Wolverine down the hallway as fast as he could. Every corner they turned brought them face to face with soldiers armed to the teeth. Each time, they were ordered to surrender, then Wolverine would kill the soldiers and they would run again.

"We're almost to the basement. They don't know its down there so we should be safe once we get underground!" yelled Xavier to Wolverine over the roar of the mansion being torn apart by the army.

Wolverine grunted his recognition and they reached the false wall that slid open to reveal the true secrets of the mansion. Just before Xavier opened the door though, a voice shouted orders from behind them.

"Freeze! You're surrounded! Put your hands on your heads! We're not here to kill you unless you fight us!"

They turned around to find 7 soldiers with rifles pointed straight at them. Wolverine stepped in front of Xavier slowly, his hands remaining defiantly in front of his chest, claws out. 

"Then you'll have to kill me, bub!"

Wolverine charged towards the group. Six automatic rifles began firing at once. The seventh soldier, the one who had shouted orders, was already down in a pool of blood. A splatter of blood flew from Wolverine's left shoulder as he turned around, cutting the barrel off the rifle that had just shot him. He dug his claws into the soldier's stomach and twisted his hand around, shredding and spilling the man's intestines. With his back turned to the rest of the group, Wolverine was an easy target to shoot at. The soldiers fired bullet after bullet into his back but to their horror, they didn't seem to be affecting him. Wolverine spun on his heels to face the 5 men behind him.

"You picked a fight with the wrong guy!"

He retracted his right claws as he punched one of the men, instantly breaking his jaw. Blood trailed from the corner of the man's mouth as he dropped to the ground unconscious. The other soldiers started to help their comrade, but stopped when they saw Wolverine's back. The bullet holes were gone and the blood had stopped flowing. All 4 of the men reeled back in horror as they realized that they truly had 'picked a fight with the wrong guy.' Then one of the men grunted and fell to the ground clutching his side. Wolverine's leg had just broken three of his ribs. Wolverine, still hunched over the man on the ground, glared up at the 3 remaining terrified soldiers. They all raised their guns slowly, but Wolverine slashed the rifles to pieces with one quick movement. The men looked at each other, then attempted to jump on Wolverine and take him down together. Wolverine stood up to his full height, lifting the three full-grown men into the air. He reached around his back and pulled them off one by one and threw them to the ground. Wolverine smiled to himself and dove towards the soldiers. He attacked so viciously that Xavier couldn't see what was happening. What he could see was the blood running from the spot where they lay.

"Wolverine! That's enough."

Wolverine turned and grunted at Xavier, but stood up slowly and turned towards the wheel-chair ridden professor after giving one final kick to the chest to one of the men. The man let out one last groan as the final blow landed, breaking his rib.

Xavier turned and opened the door to the sub-basement that no one but the X-Men knew about. He and Wolverine entered and the wall quickly slid shut behind them, leaving only the seven bloody bodies on the ground to prove they were ever there at all.

*****

"What do you mean the mansion's empty?!" yelled the general to his young assistant. "They had absolutely no warning! How could it possibly be empty?"

"I don't know sir, but so far none of the men have found anyone inside," came the reply from the soldier, terrified of the lecture he was about to receive from the general.

"Sir!" came a voice from the direction of the mansion. "Sir, we've got men down, we need medics and some help carrying them out!"

The general looked down to the soldiers gathered around him and grunted softly. "They're on the grounds somewhere. Find them!"

*****

The Blackbird's engines roared loudly as they warmed up and prepared to take flight. Logan helped Xavier onto the jet and soon they were in the air leaving the mansion behind them.

"Well that was interestin'," said Logan, his Wolverine cowl now hanging from the back of his neck.

"Yes. I never expected the government to go quite this far. I had hoped we had proven that we were a peaceful group." Charles Xavier sighed. "I suppose they still need more proof."

"Face it, Charles. They're never gonna accept that we're the good guys. Whether the people like us or not, the government will always see the X-Men as a threat and they ain't never gonna leave us alone."

"I disagree, Logan. But it seems that they won't trust us anytime soon. Especially not after some of their men have been killed."

Logan grunted softly. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that Chuck. I just got into it, y'know what I mean?"

"It's alright Logan. I understand. Wait a moment! What are….oh no!"

"What's wrong Chuck?" asked Logan. He looked down towards the ground and saw what was wrong. There was a Sentinel standing just outside the gates of the mansion.

"You're kiddin' me! They can't be using those things!" said Logan in shock.

The professor stared in silence for a moment. "It seems that our government has approved some most unorthodox methods to hunt us down with."

"The kids have faced those things once before, but they couldn't beat it. Magneto finally took it down," said Logan. Then he remembered. "Wait a second! Chuck, the kids!"

Xavier looked to Logan in shock. He had summoned Scott, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, and Evan to the mansion, but he forgot to tell them not to come after the army attacked.

Logan had hoped that Xavier had thought to warn the X-Men, but could tell by the professor's face that he had not. "They're headed straight into the lion's den and they have no idea."

"They'll be okay. They've been trained well. There's nothing to worry about," said Xavier, though his voice betrayed his demeanor and told Logan that the professor was unconvinced even by his own words.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine," echoed Logan as the Blackbird flew on through the sky.

*****

Logan listened to the engines slowly quieting down after the flight. It had been two days since the army had attacked the mansion and still there was no word from any of the kids. He and the professor had just taken a flight around the area hoping to find some sign of the X-Men, but found nothing. That was becoming rather common.

"Face it, Chuck. They must have been captured. That's the only explanation. If they were free, they'd have found us by now."

"Assuming they know where we are," pointed out Xavier.

"You've always told Cyclops that if there was ever any trouble, he should come here. They know where to go, Charles, and they're not here." Logan hated it when he made sense in a situation like this.

Xavier sighed. "I'm not willing to accept that quite yet, Logan. I'm going to try scanning for Scott's brain waves one more time."

Logan snorted. The professor had tried that a dozen times a day and so far hadn't found anything. Logan sniffed the air. "They're not here, Charles."

The professor opened his eyes quickly and looked at Logan. "I've got them! They're about 2 miles south of here! I told Scott that we were on our way!"

Logan looked at the professor in awe. "Alright then Chuck, let's go!"

The two men boarded the Blackbird as fast as they could and raced to the spot where the X-men awaited them.

*****

Kurt heard the roar of the engines first. "Zey're coming! I can hear zem!"

Scott, Rogue, and Kitty all jumped to their feet and stared at the sky expectantly. The moment that Scott made contact with the professor had been the happiest thing any of them could ever remember. Being lost in the woods for 2 days had zapped all of their energy and they were beginning to think they might not make it home.

"There they are! I can see them!" yelled Kitty.

The others followed her line of sight and saw the Blackbird coming to pick them up. It lowered into the field they were standing in and the staircase lowered to the ground. They ran up the steps as fast as they could and shouted with glee when they were inside of the familiar aircraft.

A door opened and the professor and Logan entered the room they were standing in.

"Professor!" shouted all the kids at once.

They charged the two grown men. Kitty and Rogue immediately hugged the professor. Scott and Kurt hung back nervously. 

"Uh, good to see you, Logan," said Scott as they shook hands.

"Yeah, good to see you kids made it alright."

Kurt stepped toward Logan with his arms spread wide. "Volverine! I zought I'd never zee you again!"

Logan stepped back quickly and extended one hand. "Don't even think about it, Elf."

Kurt smiled and shook Logan's hand heartily.

"We're delighted to see you kids again!" said the professor laughing as Kitty and Rogue finally let go of him. "But where is Evan? Wasn't he with you?"

The four teenage mutants looked at each other and then down to the floor.

"What?! How did that happen?" asked the professor after reading their minds and learning Evan's fate.

"Huh? How did what happen?" asked Logan.

"We got caught in a fight with a Sentinel," explained Scott slowly. "He got hit pretty bad. We tried to help him but he didn't make it."

Though they had tried to forget it, the subject of Evan's death was one that the teenagers had talked about many times. No matter how hard they tried though, they couldn't make any sense of it.

"What?!" growled Logan in disbelief.

"I see," said the professor. "Well, that is unfortunate. But tell me, where is the body?"

"We had to leave it behind. There was no way of carrying it with us," said Scott.

"Well then, we'll have to go back immediately. Logan, let's go. We're returning to the mansion."

"Right," said Logan somberly.

*****

They landed the Blackbird about 2 miles from the mansion and only about half a mile from the clearing where the fight with the Sentinel took place.

"For obvious reasons, I'm afraid I'll have to stay here," said the professor. "Logan, you go on with the kids and find Evan. I'll wait for you to return."

"I'll stay with you," said Kitty's voice softly. "I, like, totally don't wanna go back there, y'know?"

"I understand, Kitty. Would any of the rest of you like to stay here? I understand that returning to that clearing and the body of your friend is quite disturbing," said the professor.

"I'm not looking forward to this, but I'll be fine, professor," said Scott honestly.

"Ja, me too," said Kurt.

"Ah'll be okay," said Rogue.

"Alright then. You four go and take care of the body then. Kitty and I will wait here."

"And do what with it, Chuck?" asked Logan. "It's been decomposin' for two days now. You expect us to bring it back here or somethin'?"

"No. I'm afraid you'll have to burn it. A gruesome task, I know, but I'm afraid it's the only option. There's not enough time to dig a grave and transporting the body here would only complicate matters."

"Wha'? In that case, ah think ah'd rather stay here with you an' Kitty, professor," said Rogue, clearly shaken up by the task at hand.

"Very well, Rogue. Anyone else?"

Kurt and Scott looked at each other for a second, then shook their heads.

"Well then you better get on your way," said the professor.

"Right. Let's go boys," said Logan.

The three men began marching through the woods with a small can of gasoline toward the site where Evan's body lay.

"Are you zure this iz the right way?" asked Kurt.

Logan sniffed the air. "Ugh, yeah, this is definitely it."

They walked in silence for 6 minutes before coming to the clearing. The smell was horrible. The body had certainly not been found by soldiers. They moved towards the edge of the clearing and uncovered the body from the brush that had been used to cover it 2 days earlier. The flesh had begun to decompose slightly, but it was still unmistakably Evan.

"Okay, lets do this," said Logan after a long silence.

They cleared an area in the middle of the clearing and laid Evan's body in it. Logan picked up the gasoline and poured it over the body.

Logan said the first farewell. "Here's to you, porcupine. You nearly gave me a nervous breakdown once in a while, but you were one of the best kids we had."

Kurt looked at Logan and waited for him to finish. "He was alvays villing to go into any fight, no matter vat. I'll miss you, Evan."

Scott looked down at Evan's face. He fought back a tear as he realized the true importance of what this would all mean. "You didn't deserve to die, Evan. Especially not like that. Not in that fight. You fought better than any of the rest of us that day. We couldn't have beat that thing if not for everything you did. We owe you our lives and we will never forget you. Goodbye Evan."

With that, Scott lit a match and dropped it to the ground. Flames spread around the body in a matter of seconds. They watched as Evan drifted into the air and spread out over the grounds of the Xavier Institute.

When the body had been completely burnt to ash, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing the ashes all over the grounds of the mansion. They left the clearing and silently returned to the Blackbird.


	5. New Recruit

September 20; 3 days before Anti-Mutant Act:

Jean was sitting on her couch reading a book when the professor rolled into her room.

"Jean, I need you to do me a favor."

She put down her book and looked up at her mentor. "Sure, professor. What is it?"

"Cerebro has just picked up a new mutant in Atlanta, Georgia. She's 14 years old and her name is Carol Danvers. Storm is leaving this afternoon to visit her. I was wondering if you would accompany her on the trip?"

Jean considered this for a moment. She had needed to get out of the mansion and take in some new scenery lately anyway.

"Sure, I'd be glad to!"

"Thanks, Jean. You leave in two hours." The professor turned to leave Jean and let her pack.

"Wait! Professor?"

He turned back around to face his favorite pupil. "Yes?"

"I didn't think we were accepting any more new students right now."

The professor smiled. "Well, we aren't to be honest. But this girl has a gift that could come in very useful for the X-men and would be incredibly dangerous in the hands of anyone else, specifically the Brotherhood."

"What can she do?"

"For one thing, she can fly. But more important than that, perhaps, is that she has superhuman strength. In fact, that's how her powers manifested this morning. She slammed a door after a fight with her parents. The door slammed all the way through the doorway and fell to the floor."

"Wow!" exclaimed Jean. "I see what you mean!"

"Yes, now pack your things and get ready to leave."

*****

Jean carried her bag downstairs quickly. She hadn't been on a recruiting mission in nearly two years. The last time she had done this, she had been 17 years old and a senior at Bayville High. Now she was 19, one week from 20, and a teacher at the Xavier Institute. _Life has certainly changed lately,_ she thought to herself.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she met Scott.

"Hey, what's with the bag? You running away from me?" He laughed.

Jean just smiled at him. "No, I'm going on a recruiting mission to Atlanta with Storm," she explained. She noticed Scott's mouth turn down in a frown. "Don't worry, we'll be back tomorrow. You won't even know I left!"

Scott thought about this. "I didn't think we were taking new students right now."

"Neither did I, but the Professor says this one's important."

"Okay, but take care of yourself."

"When do I not? Normally I have to take care of myself _and _you at the same time!"

Scott laughed. "Right, whatever. I'll see you when you get back."

They shared a quick kiss and Jean went on to meet Storm in the kitchen. She was collecting some drinks to take with them on the trip.

"Hey, Storm," called Jean. "You ready to leave?"

"No, but I'm ready to get there. I hate traveling on commercial flights. They're so…cramped."

"What?" asked Jean, surprised. "We're not taking the Blackbird?"

"No," said Storm, clearly perturbed. "Charles says that he wants the Blackbird to stay here so that the Brotherhood doesn't realize that we're gone. He's hoping they don't know about young Carol yet."

"Great," said Jean sarcastically. It had been years since she'd flown in anything but the Blackbird.

"Alright Jean. Time to go," said Storm as she picked up her bag and walked to the door.

"Let's do this then," said Jean. She contacted the professor telepathically and told him that she and Storm were on their way out as she walked to the door.

*****

Jean opened the hotel door and dropped her bag on the floor before dropping herself onto the bed. It had been a long flight and she was ready to get to sleep.

"Well, it's no mansion, but it'll work for one night," said Storm as she looked around the small hotel room. "Tomorrow we'll go meet Carol and her family. For now, I'm beat! Good night Jean."

"Good night, Ororo," said Jean as she changed into pajamas and crawled into bed. She was asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

September 21; 2 days before Anti-Mutant Act:

Jean and Storm awoke early the next morning. They got dressed and went straight to the Danvers' home in the suburbs of Atlanta.

"Here we are," announced Storm as the cabdriver drove off.

"Yep. Let's do it," said Jean as she approached the porch on the front of the house.

They knocked on the door and waited for an answer. After a moment, a middle-aged woman opened the door and smiled at them.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hi," said Storm casually. "My name is Ororo Monroe and this is Jean Grey. We were wondering if we could talk to you and your family about your daughter?"

"My daughter?" said the woman suspiciously. She frowned at Jean. "How do you know Carol?"

Jean answered before Storm did. "Well, Mrs. Danvers, we're from a private school in New York that works with kids like Carol…"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Mrs. Danvers.

"We work with kids that have special gifts," answered Jean casually.

"I don't understand what you mean."

Jean tried to find the right words, but they didn't come. After a moment, Storm answered. "We would like to talk to you about Carol's newfound gifts. Perhaps you'd like to tell us about yesterday morning?"

Mrs. Danvers flinched. "What do you mean? Nothing happened yesterday morning."

An attractive teenage girl came up to the door. She was fairly tall and had long blonde hair. "Who's there, Mom?"

"No one, honey. Go get your father."

"If we could just come inside, Mrs. Danvers, we could explain ourselves more completely," suggested Jean.

Mrs. Danvers hesitated, but ultimately opened the door all the way and allowed them into her home. Just then, a large man emerged from a doorway across the room.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

"Nathan, these women are from some school up north. They want to talk to us about Carol."

Mr. Danvers looked confused.

"How do you know Carol?" he asked, echoing his wife's earlier question.

"Mr. Danvers, we are from a school in New York that works with gifted children such as your daughter. We'd like to talk to you about Carol joining us," explained Storm.

Just then, Carol appeared in the room. "What's that, sugar? You're from a school up north? What's going on Dad?"

"I'm not sure, sweetheart," replied her father. He turned to Jean and Storm. "Have a seat," he said. "Now, what do you mean 'gifted'? Carol is certainly smart, but she doesn't have the grades to attract private schools from across the nation. Who are you?"

"My name is Jean Grey and this is Ororo Monroe," explained Jean. We're from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children. We deal solely with kids like Carol…"

"What do you mean 'like Carol'?" interrupted Mr. Danvers. 

__

Everytime we do this, the parents are in complete denial!, thought Jean.

"I mean mutants, Mr. Danvers."

"What?!" shouted the now angry man as he stood up. "I don't know where you got that idea but my daughter is no freak! I don't know who you people are, but this is outrageous and I want you out of my house now!"

__

Whoa! We've had some unhappy parents before but never like this! Jean scanned Mr. Danvers' mind quickly. _That's strange. He has no idea that she's a mutant! _A revelation came upon Jean._ He wasn't there when her powers manifested!_ Jean quickly scanned Carol and her mother to be sure. _He wasn't there and they decided not to tell him because they were afraid he'd overreact. I can see why._ Jean tried to think of what to do now.

"Mrs. Danvers, could you tell us about yesterday morning?"

Mrs. Danvers glared at Jean. "I already told you, I don't know what you're talking about."

Jean turned to Carol who was close to tears. "Carol, do you know what I'm talking about?"

Carol bit her lip and studied the floor between her feet. After a long moment, she nodded her head. "I pulled the door off its hinges," she said slowly.

Mr. Danvers turned to look at his daughter. "You did what? That's impossible!"

"Actually," said Storm quickly, "its quite possible. Carol has acquired superhuman strength as well as the gift of flight."

Carol looked up for the first time since this conversation started. "I, I can't fly," she said.

Storm looked back at her and said softly, "Actually, you can, you just haven't done it yet."

Carol smiled. Jean smiled too. The one power that no one ever seemed sad to have was flight. It was everyone's dream to fly and now Carol could do it! Jean knew what it felt like to fly. She had lifted herself by telekinesis many times, which was essentially the same thing.

Mr. Danvers stood tall in front of the couch. "That's it! I want both of you out of my…" He trailed off as he went deep in thought. Just before Jean delved into his mind though, he began to speak again. 

"I'm sorry about that. I get upset sometimes." He sat back down. "So if you two are from a school of mutants, then I suppose you're mutants yourselves, right?"

"That's right," said Jean. 

__

Talk about your mood swings!

"So what can you do, sugar?" Carol asked Jean excitedly. Since learning she could fly, Carol was clearly more interested in everything.

"I have telepathic abilities and Ororo can control the weather," said Jean.

There was a short pause before Mr. Danvers asked if anyone would like a drink.

Jean and Storm looked at the man who had just changed right before their eyes and decided that they didn't trust him. 

"No, thank you," they said together.

"Linda?" he said, turning to his wife.

Mrs. Danvers hesitated, then said she'd like a cup of coffee.

Mr. Danvers disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a cup of coffee for his wife a few moments later.

"So anyway," said Jean, eyeing Mr. Danvers suspiciously, "we would like for Carol to come join us at our school."

"We'll have to think about that," said Mr. Danvers.

"Of course," said Jean, who was now anxious to get away from this house and this strange man. She really didn't care if Carol came with them or not, now.

"By the way," said Mr. Danvers, "you said you can read minds, right?"

"Yes," said Jean. She didn't have to read his mind to know what he was about to ask.

"Can you tell me what I'm thinking right now?"

Jean sighed. She hated when people did this. "Sure."

Jean concentrated on Mr. Danvers' brain waves, but to her surprise, she couldn't pick them up. She couldn't pick up anyone's!

__

What's happening? Why can't I read his mind? I can't even read Storm's mind! What's wrong? This should be really easy.

Jean frowned and held her head. "I…I'm sorry, but something seems to be wrong. I can't do it right now."

Mr. Danvers grinned. "That's okay." He stood up and walked around to stand behind Jean and Storm. "I'm sure we can figure out the problem later."

"Actually, we are expected back at home tonight," said Ororo. She looked over at Jean perplexed by her sudden power loss.

"Oh, but I think you should stay here," said Mr. Danvers. He pulled two syringes out of his pocket and stuck them into Jean and Storm's necks. The two women tried to stop him, but quickly slumped to the floor unconscious.

September 22; 1 day before Anti-Mutant Act:

Jean awoke and tried to look around. She was in a bright room. She tried to stand up, but couldn't move. She then realized that she was tied down. She moved her head to the right to look around and saw Storm tied up and laying on a table next to her. On her left was Carol in the same position. Carol was clearly unconscious. Jean studied her surroundings.

__

Where am I? Why am I tied down? Why is Carol here? This isn't gonna be good.

"Jean? Are you okay?" asked Storm.

"I don't know. What's going on?"

"Apparently Mr. Danvers has a bit of an eccentric side to him," answered Storm. "We're in some sort of laboratory, but it looks to me like we're still in the house. The strange thing is I can't use my powers and before he attacked us you said you couldn't use yours, right?"

Jean thought back. It was hard to remember exactly what happened before she found herself on this table. "I think that's right. Yeah, I remember now. I couldn't read his mind."

"Well then, I think its safe to say we're in trouble," said Storm.

A groan came from Jean's left. She looked over and saw Carol finally waking up.

"Carol, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh no! Why am I down here!" whispered Carol distressingly.

__

Okay, she clearly recognizes this place, thought Jean. "Carol, where are we?"

Carol turned to look at Jean. She flinched when she saw Jean's face. "You! This is all your fault!" she yelled.

Jean was shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Carol, I'm not the enemy. Do you know where we are?"

Carol ignored her. "If you hadn't told him I'm a mutant then everything would have been fine! But no, you had to show up and announce it like its no problem! He hates mutants, sugar! Don't you get that?! That's why he has this lab. He's been trying to find a way to stop mutants for years! And now he knows that I'm one because you couldn't keep your big mouth shut!"

"Carol! Calm down," said Storm. "If we have hurt your relationship with your father, then we are truly sorry. However, it seems that now your father plans to treat you just as he plans to treat us. Please trust us and perhaps we can escape from here."

Carol grew quiet and thought for a long time. Finally, she calmly answered Storm. "Dad hates mutants. He always has. He built this lab about 5 years ago. He works down here all the time trying to find a way to do something to them. Hurt them. Kill them. He doesn't care. He just wants to find a way to make them less of a threat to the world. The other day he came up and announced to Mom and me that he had made a discovery that would make us rich. He had made a chemical that he thought would temporarily take away a mutant's powers. It goes straight into the brain and attacks the extra body chemicals there that provide a mutant's power. Now, it looks like he has a test subject. And he knows it works cause it took out your powers. That, sugar, is why he asked you to read his mind. When he went in the kitchen, he hit a switch that began pumping this chemical into the living room through the air conditioner. After he saw that it worked, he knocked you two out and then injected you with the chemical. If his calculations are right, then you shouldn't be able to use your powers for…" she looked at the clock on the wall, "…another two hours. It takes away a mutant's powers for 12 hours. Anyway, after he was done with you, he came towards me. I tried to run from him but he caught me and did the same thing to me that he did to you."

Jean and Storm listened anxiously as Carol told her story. Before they had a chance to answer her though, Mr. Danvers came down the stairs in the corner of the room.

"Look at you. You certainly are a smart little mutant. Of course, that's what happens when you live with normal people for 15 years. Lying to them for 15 years about what you really are. Y'know, I wasn't sure where I was going to find a mutant to test my chemical on, then you two showed up. Now, I have three test subjects! Isn't it funny how life always works out for the best?"

"You're insane!" cried Storm. "This is crazy. You've locked up three people in your basement and you're planning to perform experiments on them! You're going to perform experiments on your own daughter?! Whats wrong with you?!"

"She's not my daughter!" shouted the man. "My daughter isn't a mutant! She couldn't be! I'm no mutant and neither is my wife. No, clearly she was planted in the hospital to be taken home by us while my real daughter was stolen by mutants! They probably killed her just for sport! Now, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure this chemical works right and then I'll sell it to whoever wants it. As for your fate beyond that, I don't know what I'll do with you when the time comes. I'll think of something." He smiled menacingly.

Jean thought of Logan. He had been captured once and experimented on. He had ended up with claws and a metal skeleton and only survived because of his regenerative powers. She shuddered to think what was going to happen to her. She heard a sob come from Carol. It suddenly struck her how strong Mr. Danvers' language had been about his daughter.

"Now, you're all due for another dose before your powers come back," said the man. He walked toward them and injected the chemical into each of them. Jean could feel it moving up her arm and across her shoulder. Soon, Mr. Danvers turned and began walking back up the stairs.

"I think I'll leave you three to enjoy being normal for a while. Goodnight."

He walked through the door and left them lying on their tables. Jean closed her eyes and prayed that this was all a bad dream.

September 23; day of Anti-Mutant Act:

Mr. Danvers was back downstairs working in his lab again. He had already given each of the girls another dose for the day. Now he was working on another batch of the chemical and listening to the radio. Jean, Storm, and Carol had given up talking to each other a few hours before. It was clear that there was nothing they could to stop this madman. 

"…that was James Taylor's 'Fire & Rain'. Great song," said the voice on the radio. "Now we've got some really huge national news here. Congress has just passed new legislation on the Mutant Crisis."

Everyone in the laboratory was suddenly listening to the radio with great interest.

"Congress has just passed a new bill that says that all mutants are to be rounded up and detained in what sounds to me like labor camps. Also, if you know of a mutant living in the United States, the government is asking you to call a national hotline and report them."

Mr. Danvers looked back at the mutants tied up behind him and giggled like a little boy, then grabbed a pencil and wrote down the hotline number as the radio DJ called it out. "Looks like this is your lucky day," he said to them as he grabbed the phone.

Jean and Storm exchanged looks of worry as Mr. Danvers dialed the number.

"Yes, is this the mutant hotline? There's three mutants attacking me and my wife! They're in our house right now! Okay, thank you!" He hung up the phone. "Five minutes and you three are going where you belong!"

*****

Before long, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Danvers answered it and welcomed the armed soldiers into his home.

"Uh, we got a call that you were being attacked by mutants," said one of the soldiers. They were clearly confused by the sight before them. Mr. and Mrs. Danvers were sitting in their living room with three mutant girls tied up and laying on the floor.

"That's right. We managed to tie them up and now you can take them away for us," answered Mr. Danvers.

The soldiers looked around confusedly. "How did you subdue three mutants?" asked one of them.

"Well," started Mr. Danvers, "it wasn't hard really. Not with this." He held up a vial of his chemical. He turned to the soldier who was in charge of this mission and went into a full explanation of what was in the vial and how it works while the other soldiers picked up Storm, Jean, and Carol and carried them to a van outside the house.

"No!" shouted Jean when they picked her up. _I can't let this happen! I have to escape and tell the professor! Scott, I could really use your help right now!_

She tried to get free of the soldier's grip and escape. Instead, another soldier saw her fighting and hit her in the back of her head with the butt of his gun.

Jean's sight went black and she slumped over in the soldier's arms.


	6. Of Murders & Battles

I'd like to thank Jolly B for reviewing. I really appreciate it. With that said, where are the rest of you? There's got to be someone out there who thinks this story is interesting, right? C'mon folks, give me some kind of feedback here!

And now on to my personal favorite chapter yet.

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The men all turned to look at the stranger who had just entered into their midst. He certainly didn't look like he belonged here. This was a secret bar, designed to cater to the wealthy and elite businessmen of Chicago who were too good to be seen in a bar on the street level. This bar was far removed from those common places. It was located on the 82nd story of the Sears Tower and very few knew it existed. There were certain rules about this bar that the stranger was clearly breaking. First of all, he wasn't wearing a pinstripe suit and second, he didn't seem to have the typical "holier than thou" attitude that so clearly marks the rich.

No, this man was wearing a brown trench coat that hung nearly to the floor and under it he had on some sort of metal armor covering his arms and legs. His chest was covered by a dark pink, almost purple, breastplate that showed his muscles, but the men could tell that this was not a guy to make fun of because he wore pink. His face was outlined by black spandex that extended from under the armor and wrapped around his neck and most of his head leaving only his face and the top of his head free. His brown hair hung out the top of the strange headgear. His hands were wrapped in a similar fashion. The same bodysuit came from under the trench coat and covered his hands. Only his thumb, index, and pinkie fingers emerged from the strange gloves. On top of all this, he wore sunglasses over his eyes despite being inside on a cloudy day. This guy definitely did not fit in with this crowd. He must be here by mistake.

He walked towards the bar, and sat down on a stool. "Bourbon," he said to the bartender.

The bartender looked the man over. "You sure yer in the right place?"

The man looked up at the bartender for the first time. "Yeh, I am. Are _you_?"

The bartender was surprised by the sudden snap from the man. "I don't think yer supposed to be in here," said the bartender, now annoyed.

"An' I don't think you're s'posed t'think. You're s'posed t'give me a drink when I order one. So, I'll have a bourbon."

The bartender grunted. "You need to leave, son."

"No, ya need t'give me mah drink!" said the man, now standing up to his full height.

The bartender looked him over and decided he didn't want to fight. "Fine, but I'll need ID."

The man reached into his pocket and threw his wallet on the bar. "It's in dere."

The bartender picked up the wallet and looked at the driver's license. He chuckled under his breath as he read the small card. "Sorry kid, you're only 20 years old. No bourbon for you. I got some milk for you if you want it though."

The bartender chuckled out loud as the rest of the room spilled into laughter. The man looked around slowly as the room laughed at him. He walked over to the window and looked down on the city while he waited for them to stop. Once the laughter died down, he walked back to the bar.

"You boys like jokes, neh?" he said. "Well I'm not so good with jokes, but I got a riddle for ya." He walked over and leaned over a table of middle aged men wearing suits. "If somethin' falls out of de sky, but never hits de groun', den what happened ta it?"

The men all looked around at each other, then back at the strange man. They had no idea what he was talking about.

"Hmm? Anybody know?" asked the man as he walked around the room with his hands in the air questioningly. He smiled, took off his sunglasses, and walked over to the bartender. "Why don't ya come out here, mon frere?"

The bartender looked at the man. He stepped back at first when he saw the man's eyes. They were black with red pupils! "It must just be some sort of weird contacts," thought the bartender as he stepped around the bar.

The man put his arm around the bartender's shoulder and led him over to the window that he had been looking out earlier.

"Do ya know de answer, mon frere? If somethin' falls out of de sky, but never hits de groun', den what happened ta it?"

They were now standing next to the window.

"I don't know," confessed the bartender. "What?"

The bartender's shirt began to glow.

"It blew up," said the man coolly.

He gave the bartender a push and sent him flying through the window. The men in the bar all stood up with a gasp. They could hear the bartender's scream as he fell, then heard a deafening boom. They all looked silently back to the man in the brown trench coat. He was facing back towards the room again and smiling.

"Now den, about dat bourbon."

*****

Gambit walked out of the Sears Tower and began walking down the street. He looked over his shoulder and watched as the police arrived on the scene. He admitted to himself that that hadn't been smart. The government was already hunting down mutants and now he'd just alerted them that there was a dangerous one in Chicago. It was still fun though. And besides, he was leaving Chicago that afternoon. His mission was over and now it was time to report back to Magneto. He hailed a cab and rode to the airport.

*****

"Now is not the time to be playing games, Gambit!" yelled Magneto. "Do you understand the situation?! The government is officially hunting us down now, or didn't you understand why you went to Chicago in the first place? I don't mind you killing humans, but you will not compromise your mission like that again! Do you understand me?!"

Gambit tried to look back into Magneto's furious eyes, but looked away quickly. "I gotcha."

"No, I don't think you do! Thanks to your stunt, the Mutant Control Commission is going to be keeping a close eye on Chicago for at least a month!" yelled Magneto again.

Gambit's chair began to constrict on him. The metal arms began pushing against his ribs until he couldn't breathe.

"Ugh, I promise…it won' happen, argh, ag'in!"

"It had better not." Magneto released Gambit from the chair. "Now, tell me what you learned in Chicago."

Gambit rubbed his sides, then looked up at Magneto. "What's de Mutant Control Commission?"

Magneto sighed as he looked back at his youngest disciple. "The Anti-Mutant Act set up a new government group called the Mutant Control Commission. They are in charge of capturing mutants around the country and inspecting possible mutant threats," said Magneto through clenched teeth. "Now tell me what you learned in Chicago!"

Gambit shrugged his shoulders. "Shouldn' be hard," he said casually. "O' course, everythin' there's made o' metal so ya should like it. An' if it ain't metal, den it's concrete an' should fall apart nicely. Besides, everythin's old. Anyone could take it down. Ripping that city ta shreds'll be easy."

"This is not just about destruction, Gambit. It is about dominance. We must prove to those puny people that we are the future and they cannot stop us."

Gambit smirked. He could think of a million things wrong with this plan. For one, attacking Chicago made no sense. It's a big city, but it's not important politically or economically. But then, Magneto had never told them his full plan before. Why would he start now? He always told them only what they needed to know and nothing more.

"We strike in ten days, whether the MCC is watching or not. Tomorrow I'll need you to fetch the Brotherhood. I want them to help with this."

"Sure thing, mon frere. I'll leave in de…"

An explosion outside the base stopped him. Magneto turned around to face the direction the explosion came from.

"What was that?"

"I dunno. It sounded like…" Another explosion. "like dat."

Magneto ran to the wall and punched the code for the intercom system installed throughout the base.

"Acolytes! We are under attack! Get outside and destroy them!"

He turned back to Gambit and sneered.

"They must have followed you home. I hope you're proud. You gave us away!"

With that, Magneto turned and ran out the door, simultaneously pulling his helmet to him from across the room. Gambit stood up slowly and stretched his bruised sides before running after Magneto.

Once outside, he found a huge army attacking the steel base. Tanks had been rolled up through the snow and they were being used to chip away at the metal walls. Despite Magneto's best attempts at keeping it together, the base was beginning to fall apart from the constant bombardment.

The Acolytes were fighting the army. Pyro was heating one of the tanks, cooking the men inside it. Colossus was rampaging through the soldiers. Bullets ricocheted off his metal body as he stormed through the mass of men, throwing them across the field. Magneto was busy trying to hold his base together. Gambit pulled 3 cards from his pocket and ran into the battle.

He tossed the cards at once. One of them flew into the barrel of a tank and blew the tank apart from the inside. Another landed between two soldiers who were thrown in opposite directions by the resulting blast. The final card hit a man in the chest and flames suddenly surrounded his body. Gambit pulled his metal staff from his back and used it as a pole vault into the thick of the action. He landed smoothly and whipped the pole around him in a wide arc, knocking about ten soldiers to the ground and cracking one man's skull. The men around him charged, but Gambit showed his expertise with the staff as he defeated them easily. He pulled out another card and threw it into the ground in front of three soldiers who were running straight at him.

Suddenly, a burning pain shot up his leg from his shin. He looked down and saw blood staining the snow he stood in. He swung his head around to find a soldier about twenty yards behind him with a gun aimed right at him. He tossed a card at the soldier, then bent down to nurse his wound. The bullet had found its way through an opening between two plates of armor. Gambit threw another card at an oncoming soldier, then picked up a handful of snow and pressed it against the bullet hole. He inhaled with a hiss as the pain ripped through his whole body.

An explosion from above turned Gambit's attention towards Magneto. One of the tanks had fired a direct hit at the master of magnetism, causing him to fall from the air a few feet before catching himself. However, this momentary break in his concentration was enough to allow the base to collapse on itself. Magneto turned to face the battle for the first time and growled. He stretched forth his right hand and slowly clenched his fist. The tank that had shot him instantly compacted in on itself, crushing the men inside of it. It then rose into the air and flew into a large group of soldiers.

"There's no point in fighting this fight anymore!" shouted Magneto. "Let's leave this place!"

Magneto began flying into the air. He used his powers to pull Colossus and Pyro with him, but left Gambit kneeling in the bloodstained snow. Gambit watched his friends fly away without him. The soldiers crowded around him with raised guns. He kept his gaze on the men flying away as he raised his hands into the air.

"Ya got me, boys. Ya got me."


	7. A Walk of Revelations

The Blackbird had become home for the past 2 days for the remaining X-Men and Logan's patience was beginning to wear thin. Confined spaces didn't bother him, but he had been in close proximity to the kids for 2 days straight now! He loved those kids and would do anything to protect them, but if Kitty said "totally" one more time, he just might run a claw through her throat!

They had landed just outside Bayville after taking care of Evan and they hadn't moved since. Logan couldn't take it anymore. He stepped into the cockpit, lowered the stairs, jumped out of the Blackbird, and made a dash for the woods. He was no longer wearing his Wolverine suit. Just in case of an emergency, the X-Men kept food and extra changes of clothes in the Blackbird's storage room so he was now wearing jeans and a flannel shirt.

As he walked through the woods he couldn't help but notice how fresh the air was. A heightened sense of smell wasn't a desirable trait in a situation involving six people and no showers.

He kept walking until he made it to town. He had roamed Bayville's streets many times and had memorized the city long ago. Maneuvering it was now second nature to him.

He always enjoyed walking these streets. It was calming for some reason. It gave him a chance to get away and think. Today, his brain was spinning with thoughts.

He was worried about Jean and Ororo. Ororo had been a great friend to him for years. Being the only two adults in the mansion that didn't have the most amazing mind in the world had brought them together in a way that nothing else could have. They were very different people and they both knew it. Storm was always calm and collected. She was organized and was quicker to consider her actions before taking them. Logan, on the other hand, was hot-tempered and always looking for a fight. Simply put, he was a weapon. He had been designed to be a weapon and he was learning that fighting that impulse was useless. He had a bloodthirsty side to his personality that was almost like an addiction. If he went too long without a fight, he would actually begin to feel withdrawal! There had been plenty of times that he had felt this. He needed to fight. It was a part of him and there was nothing he could do about it. Fortunately, he had Storm there to talk things over with when he felt antsy. If not for this, he figured he'd probably go crazy.

He lit up a cigar as another thought occurred to him. This had popped into his mind off and on a lot lately. When it had first crossed his mind months before, it had startled and scared him. Now, however, he was beginning to grow more accustomed to it, though wasn't ready to completely accept it. As much as he missed Storm, his friend and confidant, he missed Jean even more! Over the last 4 months, he had begun to notice her more and more. She was very attractive, but that wasn't what got his attention. Everyone knew she was beautiful! But Logan was drawn to her because he saw inside her a more wild spirit than she was willing to let on. She acted tame and settled, yet he could see her for what she really was, an only somewhat tamer version of himself. No, she wasn't a bloodthirsty warrior like he was, but she had the same urges to let go of the rules and do things the way she wanted to do them. Logan smiled as he let his mind dwell on the topic. He hated to admit it, but he was falling in love with her!

Of course, it didn't matter because there was a huge age difference between them that nobody could overcome! Even Logan wasn't sure of his age but he knew he had been in his 40s when he worked with Cap in World War II. This would make him at least 99 years old now. But then again, it wouldn't matter who he dated. He would always have to deal with an age difference. He knew he only looked about 27 or 28 and she was only three days from turning twenty, so maybe it could work out.

He smiled as he let his mind dwell on the "what ifs" of the situation. Soon though, he shook the thoughts out of his mind. It could never happen. She was already dating Cyke and besides, he was the teacher. She was the student. But then again, he reminded himself that she was now one of the teachers too. No. It just couldn't work. He shook his head and walked on.

He was now walking past an electronics store. He decided to step in. It was pretty hot outside and he could use a few minutes of air conditioning. He dropped his now nearly burnt out cigar on the sidewalk and stepped through the sliding doors. Once inside, he headed to the TV section. As he had expected, they were playing the news. He stood in front of the wall of TVs and listened to the news of the day. So far, the big news was a bombing in Jerusalem. He hated to see stuff like that, but hearing about it didn't phase him as he was so used to hearing it. They had at least one bombing a day over there!

"Can I help you sir?" asked a clerk.

Wolverine looked at the man standing beside him. He was big. Probably a former marine. Young too. Knew how to handle himself. Wolverine smiled. He could take him.

"No, thanks."

Logan turned his attention back to the TV. It had been 4 days since the last fight. He could normally go much longer between fights without having these thoughts. Of course, this new law had his blood boiling.

"The White House has just released a list of all mutants that have been detained so far," said the TV anchor. Logan's ears perked up as he listened intently. "It is an extensive list with over 500 names on it. These names are now being scrolled across the bottom of your screen. The White House Press Secretary also announced today that all mutant detainees are currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

Logan stopped listening as he scanned the names scrolling slowly along the screen. They were in alphabetical order. He watched the names go by, scanning them for familiar ones. He recognized the name Carol Danvers when it went by, but couldn't quite remember where he had heard it.The list seemed endless as it kept dragging across the screen. Finally, the name he had been waiting for showed up. Jean Grey. It was official. Jean had been captured. After a long wait, "Ororo Monroe" went across the screen and Logan quickly turned to leave the store.

He walked briskly back in the direction he came from. He wanted to run back to the Blackbird as fast as he could, but that would attract attention, something he didn't want to do. As he walked, he tried not to imagine Jean being beaten by guards. He tried not to imagine her handcuffed and being thrown into the dirt, then picked up and pushed back into line with the other mutants. He tried not to imagine her hands tightly chained behind her back with another chain extending down to her ankles. He tried not to imagine her face bloodied and bruised nearly beyond recognition. But it was no use. These images were all he could think about as he rushed back to the Blackbird.

Once he got to the woods, he took off as fast as he could. After dodging trees and rocks for 2 miles, he arrived in the clearing where the Blackbird was sitting and ran up the stairs into the craft. He made his way into the room that had been used as a living area for the last 2 days and found the rest of the X-Men sitting around talking.

"Logan. Good to see you made it back. Maybe next time you could tell somebody that you're leaving," said the professor harshly.

"Sure thing, Chuck," said Logan dismissively. "Jean and Storm have been captured. Saw it on the TV. They're in Guantanamo Bay with the other 500 mutants that got caught!"

The room stared at him for a minute or two before it sank in. Finally, Scott jumped up. "Then let's go get 'em!"

"Hold on, Scott," said the professor. "Logan, you're sure about this?"

"Positive Chuck. CNN don't lie about stuff like this!"

"Well then," said the professor, "I suppose we're going to Cuba."


	8. Living in Captivity

****

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys, and keep them coming. I really appreciate them. For those of you who haven't reviewed yet, shame on you! What's holding you back? Feedback always makes the story better. Even if you don't like it, let me know what you don't like. I can take criticism.

Anyway, this chapter introduces quite a few OCs. Don't worry, they're not going to become major characters, but they are necessary. On the off chance that any of you would like to use one of these characters in one of yours fics, just drop me an email asking permission and telling me your intentions for the character. I probably won't mind if you use them.

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Jean's eyes fluttered open. She was looking up at a leaky wooden ceiling. She glanced to her right and found a nurse standing beside her bed.

"Where am I?"

"You don't wanna know, hun."

Jean looked around her more closely. Slowly, her vision began to come into focus. There were beds everywhere with people lying in them. Beside most of the beds were IV stands and other medical equipment.

"You lay on back down now, hun."

"What is this place?" asked Jean.

The nurse wrote something on a chart.

"Welcome to Guantanamo Bay."

Jean felt a sudden sharp pain in her thigh. She jumped and looked down to see what it was. The nurse had just stuck a syringe in her!

"What was that?!" asked Jean.

"Sorry, hun. But we can't have you using those freak powers of yours now, can we?"

The nurse turned and walked off. Jean looked around at the small hospital. It was one big room, apparently a wooden cabin of some sort.

__

Did that nurse just say Guantanamo Bay? That's in Cuba!

It was then that she remembered what happened in the Danvers' home. She suddenly remembered being dragged out of the door. She had fought them. And then… it had all just gone black. And now she was in Cuba?!

"Hey, you're awake! Welcome back ta life, chere."

She turned to find the source of the new voice. As she did so, she couldn't help but think that it sounded familiar. She stopped when she saw the man in the bed beside her. She focused on the man and finally recognized him. It was one of Magneto's followers!

"You! What are you doing here?!" 

He laughed. "Calm down there, chere. You'll make da nurse come back. Ya been out cold for a nice little while, ya know dat?"

Jean studied him. He didn't seem too threatening and he was laying in a hospital bed just like her. "How long?" she asked.

The Acolyte thought for a moment. "Not sure. You was already here when I got brought in. But I just got here las' night. Seein' as ta how dey only passed dat new law two days ago though, I'd guess dat ya prob'ly been 'ere two days. Now, you're starting your third day."

Jean looked around. She'd been unconscious for two whole days?! That must have been quite a hit she took!

"I don't think we've ever met properly. I'm Remy Lebeau."

"Jean Grey. Didn't Magneto call you by some code name? Gauntlet or something?"

Remy frowned. "I called myself Gambit, so he called me Gambit too. Course, now he don't call me nothin'."

Remy studied the ground. Jean tried to read his mind, but couldn't.

__

Looks like Mr. Danvers' chemical is being put to use around here.

"Did something happen with Magneto?"

Remy looked up coldly. "He deserted me when de army attacked. Took Pyro and Colossus with 'im, but he left me alone ta get captured. Soon as I get outta here, he'll regret dat."

Suddenly, Jean remembered Storm and Carol.

__

They have to be around here somewhere! Where are they?

She looked around the room and scanned all the beds.

"Lookin' for yer friends?" asked Remy.

Jean nodded as she looked over another row of beds.

"Dey ain't in here, chere. Nurse told me when I got here. Dey out dere," he pointed outside with his thumb, "Nurse said dey put up a good fight when dey got here though."

Jean looked back at Remy. For someone who had worked with Magneto, he was certainly very nice. And, she had to admit, kinda cute in his own way.

"Thanks. So, uh, why'd you work for Magneto?" asked Jean. It was clear she had to talk to this guy, but she had no idea what to talk about.

"Simple. He paid well. Besides, what else was I gonna do? I ran away from home when I was 18. He offered me a new home an' a new fam'ly. I never much cared for dat one though. All dat talk 'bout 'mutant supremacy.' De man's like a broken record, know what I mean, chere? Now I'm 20 and I'm finally outta dat li'l fam'ly o' his."

"You're 20?!" said Jean excitedly. "I'll be 20 in…" she thought for a moment, "in 3 days!"

"Is dat a fact? Well, happy birthday!"

"Thanks. So what is this place?" asked Jean.

"Dis," said Remy with his hands up as if he were showing it off, "is de big mutant detention camp. De government tracks ya down an' den drops ya in here."

"So what do we do while we're here? Surely we don't just have to sit around, right?"

"Well, as best I can tell, it looks like dey got us building somethin'. I can't tell what it is yet though. Course, it's only been open 3 days now."

Jean couldn't help but think that he made it sound almost like an amusement park or a summer camp!

The nurse walked back into the cabin with a soldier on her right. They walked over to Jean and Remy.

"Oh look, the freaks have made friends," said the nurse sarcastically. "Well, you two can go. You're both nice and healthy again. Private Keller will escort you to the admin."

"Finally!" exclaimed Remy as he pulled off the covers and jumped out of the bed. He groaned when his foot landed on the floor with a thud. He looked up at the nurse with a grimace. "Thought ya said I was good again!"

"I said you can go. I didn't say it wouldn't be sore."

Jean climbed out of her bed and walked out of the hospital with a limping Remy and the armed soldier.

"So, what happened to your leg?" she asked once they left the building.

"Took a bullet," answered Remy. "I took out enough of dem ta make up for it though."

Jean looked at Remy in awe. How could he talk so plainly about killing people? She decided to change the subject.

"Where are we going now?" she asked the soldier.

"Administration building. They'll check you in and assign you to a bunker."

They walked on until they got to the building. The administration building was much nicer than the hospital. It was a metal building with central air conditioning. They walked inside and saw a uniformed soldier sitting at a desk.

"Two prisoners. Both just released from the medic," said Private Keller. "One boy. One girl. 20 and 19."

The soldier nodded as he copied down the information. He handed them each a slip of paper. He stopped as he handed the paper to Remy.

"Oh yeah. I remember you. You were in here last night making a big fuss."

Remy faked a smile. "Good ta see ya again, mon frere. I believe ya have my things. I'll take dem back now."

The soldier laughed. "I don't think so, mutant! Keller, take this worm to his hole!"

The soldier at the desk then turned around and called for another soldier to come out. A new man appeared behind the desk.

"Take that girl to her new home, Private."

The soldier glanced over Jean and smiled. "Yes sir!" he said gladly.

Jean rolled her eyes. _Great! Not only am I a prisoner, but the guards are all horny on top of that!_

She followed the new soldier away from the administration building as Pvt. Keller led Remy in the opposite direction. 

Before long, they arrived in front of a small cabin with two armed soldiers guarding the only door. She followed the guard inside and he pointed to a bed that had been pushed against the wall.

"That one's yours," he said.

Jean walked over and sat down on the bed as the soldier left. Once he was gone, Jean was delighted to hear a familiar voice.

"Jean! Thank goodness your okay!"

Jean turned to the voice and smiled.

"Ororo! What's going on?"

Storm sat down next to Jean. "Well, as I'm sure you have figured out, we are captives of the government. This is a detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The government is sending all the captured mutants here. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that that same chemical we learned about before we were captured has been sold to the government to be used against us, so no one has any powers around here. There are countless mutants here already and more arrive every day. I haven't seen anyone I recognize yet though. You and I are the only X-Men here."

"I saw one of the Acolytes in the hospital!" exclaimed Jean. "It was Gambit, the guy with the exploding cards."

Storm let this sink in. "How would one of Magneto's followers get captured? Magneto takes care of his own pretty well."

"He told me that Magneto abandoned him. I don't know why, but apparently he and Magneto aren't on good terms anymore."

"That is interesting," said Storm thoughtfully. "We'll have to see what we can find out about that later. For now, I suppose it's time you met the other girls in the cabin."

Jean looked around at all the faces surrounding her. There were about 6 girls in the cabin of various ages. Storm introduced them one by one.

"Jean, this is Hawk, Voltage, Lisa, Gaia, Waverunner, and of course you know Carol."

Jean greeted each of the girls. "So what are all of your powers?"

Waverunner spoke up first. She was slim and looked about 19. "I can control water. I direct it and command it to do anything I want."

Next to greet Jean was Voltage. She was a pretty girl and Jean guessed her to be about 23. "I can do the same thing as Waverunner here, except with electricity. Plus, I can create electricity out of my body."

Hawk stepped forward next. She was tall, but only about 14 years old. "I can fly and my vision is real good so I can see for miles."

Gaia spoke next. She was by far the oldest of the group as she was around 40. Jean noticed that she looked her age, but was very pretty. "I can speak to nature. Animals and plants both listen to and obey me. I can understand their speech and they understand mine." This impressed Jean. She hadn't heard of anyone with that ability before.

Carol spoke up next. "You already know what I can do, sugar." She giggled. "I mean, you're the one who told me I can fly!"

Jean smiled. It was then that she noticed the 6th girl, Lisa, hadn't spoken up yet.

"What about you Lisa? What do you do?"

Lisa was clearly a shy girl. She was 15 and obviously scared by her surroundings. "Huh? Oh, I don't do much. I can turn myself invisible. That's all."

"Well then," said Storm, "now that everyone knows each other…"

She was cut off by Waverunner. "We don't know what Jean does!"

Jean smiled. "I'm a telepath. I can read minds and lift objects by telekinesis."

The girls all were visibly impressed by Jean's ability.

"Wow! That's awesome!" said Waverunner excitedly.

"No kidding!" said Voltage.

"Do you have a code name, my dear?" asked Gaia.

Jean laughed to herself. "No, I don't."

"Why not? You live with Storm don't you? Why is it that Storm has a code name and you don't?"

Jean wasn't sure how to answer. She looked to Storm for help. 

"Jean is a marvelous student and she is learning to use her powers very well. We just never got around to making up a name for her."

"Well I think she needs one!" said Hawk. "Carol, Lisa, that goes for you two also."

"Hmmm," said Waverunner as she thought about the problem at hand. "Well, Storm said you're a 'marvelous student,' right? How about Marvel Girl?"

Jean laughed out loud. It didn't seem like a great name to her, but it was just corny enough that she thought it might be fun to use for a little while. Just until she thought of something better.

"Sure! Marvel Girl it is!" said Jean.

"Well that was easy enough," said Waverunner. "Now, what about Carol over here?"

The girls all stared at Carol as they thought.

Finally, Hawk spoke up. "Well, in keeping with our 'marvelous' theme, how about Miss Marvel? She _is_ marvelously strong, after all?"

The girls all giggled their approval. 

"Yeah! I like that, sugar!" exclaimed Carol.

"So what about Lisa?" asked Voltage.

"Oh, you don't have to come up with one for me!" said Lisa.

"Sure we do!" said Jean. "I mean, you're one of us, right?"

Lisa looked around and nodded.

"Well then we're gonna give you a good name. Don't worry."

"Just nothing with 'marvel' in it please. I think two names like that are enough." said Lisa shyly.

"Whatever you want!" said Waverunner.

"How about The Incredible Disappearing Woman?" suggested Voltage.

"A little long, don't you think?" giggled Hawk.

Voltage laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is. Well, that was my only idea. Anyone else?"

They all racked their minds for something to call Lisa.

"I think we should call her Cloak, since her power is like a cloaking device," suggested Gaia.

The girls all nodded in approval of the new name. Lisa looked up and smiled. She clearly liked it too.

"Then Cloak it is," said Storm. "I think its time we all took a little rest, now. We'll be expected to work this afternoon and we need to be rested up for it."

"What kind of work are we doing?" asked Jean.

Storm rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, they have us building Sentinels! The government has bought the prototype from Trask and now they want to build a Sentinel army to hunt down mutants."

"And they actually expect captured mutants to build the machines that will hunt down free mutants!" said Waverunner with a huff.

"Well then, can't we just build them poorly and make sure that they don't work?" asked Jean. 

"You could," answered Hawk, "but they inspect your work and if they find that you're slacking off, they put you in the Box."

Jean looked around confused. "What's the Box?"

"It's a metal box that's just large enough for a person to fit into," said Gaia. "You can't stand up in it though. It sits in the middle of a big open area that gets bombarded by sunlight. Basically, in the mid-afternoon, it's a human oven!"

Jean looked around in amazement. She could tell that being with these girls would make her time her somewhat bearable, but it wasn't until she heard this that she realized how much danger she was actually in.

*****

The girls all woke up a couple hours later when a soldier barged in and began yelling at them.

"All of you wake up! Its your shift in the construction yard!"

Fearing punishment, they all got out of the beds quickly and marched outside. The soldier led them to the construction yard.

Jean looked around the area in shock. Storm had told her that they were building Sentinels, but these were much bigger than the one they had fought a couple years earlier. They also looked much more fearsome.

The soldiers sent everyone to their designated work areas and they began working on assembling different parts of the gigantic robot.

When Jean got to her work area, she was surprised to find Remy already working there.

"Remy! I didn't think I'd get to see you again!"

"Shhh!" said Remy. "Don' attract attention!"

He lowered his head and continued to work. Jean watched him for a moment, then did the same.

Before long, Remy began to talk again in a hushed voice. "Don' let em see dat we're talkin'. Dey won' like it."

Jean finally began to understand his strange behavior.

"Okay," she said in the same hushed voice. She grappled with what to say next. "How's your bunker?"

"Fine. Got some good guys in it. Might even be able to talk a couple of 'em into going after Magneto with me when we get out."

"Who are they? What are their powers?"

Remy straightened his back and pretended to wipe the sweat off his brow as he looked around for his new friends. He then bent back down and answered her.

"Ryan's over dere helping lift dat steel beam. He's de strong guy with de sleeves ripped off his shirt. Calls hisself Stopwatch. He can control the speed he moves through time in."

Jean glanced up quickly at Ryan.

"What do you mean he controls the speed he moves through time in?"

"I mean he can either slow down or speed up how fast time moves around 'im. He can't go back in time though. But by slowing down time he can move really fast. Heh, even faster than Magneto's little boy."

"Wow!" said Jean. "So who else is with you?"

"De guy talking to de blonde over dere is Viper. Basically, he's a human snake. Got a forked tongue, spits venom, and has some serious agility."

Jean glanced up again and found Viper. He was working next to Voltage.

"So it sounds like you've got a team ready to leave with. Now how do you plan to escape?"

Remy smirked. "C'mon chere, ya think nobody's gonna try ta attack dis place? I guarantee ya that within a week someone shows up to break us out. Maybe it'll be your friends. Could even be Magneto, but someone'll come. You just wait."

Jean thought about this and had to concede that he was right. Most likely someone would come and help them eventually. At least, she certainly hoped so.


	9. The Cavalry Arrives

****

A/N: This one is a little longer than the past few, but I really like this chapter. It should answer a few of your questions. As for exactly when you're going to see the pairings in the summary begin to materialize, you'll just have to wait. It's all coming, but don't get impatient as it may take some time. I'm trying to build up the story, not the romances. Ultimately, this fic is not about romance and pairings. It is about how the X-Men react to the Anti-Mutant Act and what happens as a result of the act. I can promise you one thing, though. Scott/Jean/Logan will be a very important aspect of this fic. Just not quite yet. Romy fans, keep waiting. I'm gonna take that relationship kinda slow, but I promise that you will see it develop and blossom.

Once again, if you're interested in any of the OCs appearing here, email me with your intentions for the character and I'll probably let you have them.

----------------------------------

The sun beat down hard on Guantanamo Bay. There was one battleship docked in the harbor and the guards on land were all trying to stay inside the few air-conditioned buildings as much as possible. The mutant inhabitants of the base were scattered in small groups around the grounds. Some were working on building new Sentinels. Some were resting in preparation of their work times scheduled for the afternoon. Two groups were outside the hospital waiting for their first injection of the day. One of these consisted of 7 women.

"So how long you think we'll be here?" asked Hawk quietly to her fellow prisoner roommates.

"I don't know," said Voltage, "but I hope we get out soon. I don't know how long I can take living here!"

"Me neither!" said Waverunner. "But how are we gonna get out? Escape is pretty well impossible and who's dumb enough to break us out?"

"Escape would be entirely possible if they didn't suppress our powers with these stupid injections!" said Voltage. "I don't know what that stuff is that they put in us twice a day, but I know what it does and I say that if you wanna break out, then you gotta destroy that stuff!"

Carol began immediately studying the ground at this. Nobody there except for Jean and Storm knew that her father had invented the chemical.

"I wouldn't be surprised if someone comes to break us out," said Jean.

"What are you talking about?!" said Waverunner more loudly than she had meant to. She glanced around to make sure she hadn't aroused any attention, then said more softly, "who's gonna risk their necks to come after us?"

"My friends! That's who!" said Jean. "I'd bet money that they'll come for us eventually! It's why the X-Men exist!"

"C'mon!" said Voltage. "Look, Marvel Girl, no offense, but you're precious X-Men that you're always telling us about haven't done anything so far and we've been here a whole week! Why can't you face the facts? They're not coming!"

"Storm, can you help me out here?" pleaded Jean.

Storm looked around at the group. She had become a leader to these girls over the last week and they always looked to her for the last word on anything.

"I have faith in the X-Men _if_ they know where we are. However, it is entirely possible that the government has not released our location. If that's the case, then there is no way for the X-Men to come."

"Exactly!" said Voltage. "And why would they release our location? It doesn't make sense for them to tell where we are 'cause there are still so many mutants out there. They're afraid that someone will try to help us!

"I disagree," said Gaia calmly. "The people will want to know where we are being held. It seems to work out that the American people always want to know everything that the government doesn't want them to know."

The nurse emerged from the hospital and called for the girls from one of the other bunkers to come inside. The group that was talking beneath a tree 20 yards away slowly stood and marched into the building.

The girls now sat in silence as they waited for the nurse to come back out for them. Soon, they saw a group of people coming towards them.

"Hey Marvel Girl! Here comes that boy you keep talking to!" giggled Hawk.

Jean rolled her eyes and sighed. Hawk was convinced that she liked Remy. "Hawk, I've told you that I already have a boyfriend and even if I didn't…ugh, no way! He's nice and all but he isn't my type."

Hawk just giggled as Remy and his two friends walked over to the girls.

"Hey, chere. How're you ladies doin' today?"

"Pretty good Remy, and you?" Jean heard the unmistakable sound of Hawk holding back laughter.

"We're okay," said Remy's friend Ryan. "A little anxious though. Ready to get out of here!"

"We were just saying the same thing!" said Voltage.

"Ssso, are you ladiesss ready for your next round of drugsss?" asked Viper, another of Remy's friends.

"You mean the injections? No, but there's nothing I can do about it!" said Waverunner in disgust.

"Have you boys figured out how to escape yet?" asked Jean, looking at Remy.

"Nah, not yet. We're close though. Ya wanna come wid us, chere?"

"No thanks, I'd rather not get killed by the guards."

"Whatever."

The hospital door opened and the nurse emerged carrying a clipboard.

"C'mon girls! Your turn!"

*****

The Blackbird roared through the sky like it would never fly again. Logan was pushing the jet to the extent of its power and the X-Men could feel it vibrating much more than normal. They had discovered Jean and Storm's location the day before and left this morning to rescue them.

"Professor, how long will it be until we get there?"

"I don't know, Scott. It shouldn't be long though. In fact, we should see land in just a few minutes." Professor Xavier turned around to look at his team. The X-Men were strapped in behind him, all in full uniform.

Scott was focused on the front of the jet. He was staring out the window looking for a sign of land.

Kurt sat beside him, watching the ocean through the window.

Kitty and Rogue sat across the aisle from the two boys. Like Nightcrawler, Kitty was taking in the ocean through the window. 

Rogue sat with her arms folded and her eyes shut as she prepared for the coming fight.

From the pilot's seat, Logan grunted. 

"I see land."

*****

Jean sat down as the nurse grabbed Hawk's arm and led her to the examination table. Jean was beginning to feel her powers coming back, but she knew there was another 15 minutes before she would be able to use them and by then she would have had another injection.

She looked at the other girls and could see that they felt their powers reemerging also. Gaia and Storm had their eyes closed and were making sure that they had control over their powers. Both women were worried that when their powers returned they would have trouble regaining control over them.

Voltage and Waverunner sat and tried to make their powers manifest so they could escape. Both knew it was a wasted effort.

Cloak and Miss Marvel, as Carol now preferred to be called, sat with their eyes closed, but for different reasons than Storm and Gaia. Cloak was praying that they would all be okay. Miss Marvel was thinking about what Voltage had said earlier. The only reason they were all still on this island was because of her father and his creation. She was beginning to feel a personal responsibility for the captivity of everyone here.

A tear appeared on Hawk's cheek as the nurse injected the chemical into her arm. Then the nurse turned to face the line of girls on the wall.

"Okay, next!"

Cloak began to step forward, but stopped when she heard a strange sound, almost like an explosion.

"What was that?" she asked turning around.

"Probably just a mishap in the work area. Now get on the table. We don't have all day!" said the nurse.

Cloak nodded her head and sat down on the table. The nurse picked up her syringe and stepped towards her.

*****

The soldiers watched as the huge black jet landed vertically just outside the wall of the base. They all turned to each other in astonishment. They had no idea who was inside of the jet, but they knew that jets shouldn't be able to land like helicopters! They raised their guns as the stairs lowered from the body of the jet.

They waited for something to emerge from the craft.

"By orders of the United States Army, come out of there!" yelled one ranking official.

A red beam fired from the fuselage of the jet and blew a gaping hole in the wall of the base. Soldiers dove for cover as debris flew everywhere.

They heard a loud growl as Wolverine leapt out of the jet and charged them with his claws out. He quickly took down every soldier in the area, then turned around and signaled for the X-Men to follow him. Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Rogue, and Shadowcat ran down the steps and through the wall.

Once inside, the X-Men took to the plan they had put together on the way over. Wolverine and Shadowcat paired off and ran towards a cluster of buildings to the left. Cyclops and Rogue got together and ran in the opposite direction towards what looked like a construction area with a huge pit in the middle. Nightcrawler ported around to each of the guard towers one by one to prevent the soldiers there from firing on the X-Men. The Professor remained in the jet and waited for everyone to return.

Wolverine slaughtered every soldier that got in his way as he and Shadowcat ran to the cover of the buildings ahead. As they got closer, they realized that they were running towards a group of cabins. Bullets zipped into the dirt in front of their feet as they ran. Wolverine wrapped his arms around the young girl beside him and pulled her between two of the cabins.

"See who's in there!"

Shadowcat nodded and stuck her head through the wall they were leaning against. She looked around quickly, but the cabin was empty. She pulled back into the alley and stuck her head through the wall of the other cabin. The girls in the cabin shrieked when the girl's head emerged in their room. Shadowcat walked through the wall and tried to calm them down.

"It's okay! I'm, like, here to help you! We're gonna get you outta here!"

The girls calmed down as they all looked at each other to decide what to do. Finally, the girl closest to Shadowcat spoke up.

"The door's locked."

"Like, totally not a problem!"

Shadowcat phased through the door and phased the padlock out of place. She turned around and pushed the door open, swinging the still locked padlock around her fingers. 

"C'mon! Let's go!"

She led the group of girls around the cabin and back to Wolverine.

"Good work, half-pint. Now let's get the next one!"

They waited until nobody was around, then ran to the next cabin where Wolverine jumped through the locked door.

"C'mon bubs! Everybody out!"

The cabin's occupants spilled through the remains of the door where they met Shadowcat and the rescued girls.

Wolverine led them to a secluded corner, then turned to gather some information.

"Who's got a good attack power here? Any of ya shoot lasers or have superstrength or anything that might be useful?"

The newly freed mutants looked around at each other in silence before one boy asserted himself as their leader and spoke up.

"They've got some sort of injection that keeps our powers at bay."

Wolverine sighed. This would be a tougher fight than he thought. "Okay then, so no one here on this whole base can use their powers?"

"No," said the boy.

"Stay here then!" said Wolverine as he took off in search of more prisoners.

"Hey! Like, wait up!" shouted Shadowcat as she chased after him.

*****

BAMF!

"Hi there!" 

The stunned guard turned around to find a blue devil perched on the wall of his sentry tower! He jumped when he realized that this creature had just tapped his shoulder with its tail! He raised his gun, but Nightcrawler pulled it away with his tail and dropped it to the ground.

"Careful! You'll put your eye out!"

Nightcrawler spun around quickly, landing a kick to the guard's head that left him unconscious.

"This is zo eazy!"

BAMF!

*****

A red beam fired into the oncoming group of soldiers and knocked them to the ground. Cyclops and Rogue ran ahead and into what was definitely a construction area. When they got to the edge of the large pit, they stopped in shock and stared down.

"Sentinels?!" cried Rogue. "They're makin' Sentinels!"

"Looks that way," said Cyclops slowly. "And they're making mutants build them! Let's go!"

He dropped down the dirt embankment and slid to the bottom. Rogue landed soon after him and ran towards a group of working mutants. Cyclops fired a few blasts at any soldiers that dared to attack her. Rogue ran up to the group of mutants and helped them out of the hole they had been digging. They ran back towards Cyclops as a red beam fired over their heads and hit a platform behind them where two soldiers had been standing. The platform collapsed and fell 50 yards to the bottom of the pit, landing on a work area that had been used to weld steel. The impact caused the welding tools to start and ignite a can of gasoline that had been laying nearby. A deafening boom sounded as a cloud of dark flames roared into the sky.

Rogue felt the heat from the flames wash over her as she turned around. "Ah think we just blew our cover," she said cynically.

The men around Rogue all laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so! I take it you two are on our side?" said one of the mutants as he followed Rogue to where Cyclops was standing.

"Yeah, we are! Are y'all the only ones here?"

"Yeah. Everyone else is in the cabin area."

By this time, they had arrived next to Cyclops.

"Then let's go get them!" said Cyclops.

*****

Cloak sat down on the table and rolled up her sleeve for the nurse to inject the chemical into her. The nurse picked up a new syringe and turned towards Cloak. Just as she placed the syringe against Cloak's skin, however, Wolverine leapt through the doors and landed inside the building with Shadowcat running up beside him!

"Wolverine!" cried Jean and Storm together.

"Jean! Storm!" said Wolverine in surprise. He hadn't expected to find them in here.

A cry of pain came from Cloak as the nurse stabbed the syringe into her and quickly made the injection before running out the back door of the building. Wolverine started to chase after her, but was stopped by Jean's hand on his arm.

"She's harmless. How did you find us?"

"Tell ya later, Red. Fer now, we gotta get outta here!"

He led the girls out of the hospital where they were met by a crowd of rescued mutants including Remy and his friends. Clouds began to block out the sun and the wind picked up as they stepped outside. Then, a downpour of rain fell from the sky. Wolverine turned to look back at Storm, whose eyes were now glowing completely white.

"Looks like she got her powers back," mumbled Logan as lightning began to flash across the sky. It was then that he noticed the other girls beginning to clench their fists and trying to use their powers. Slowly, Miss Marvel began to rise into the air. Voltage's eyes began to glow as electricity sparked around her. The trees began to shake and bend down to touch the ground as Gaia held her hands out. As the rain fell around her, Waverunner threw her hands forward and caused the rain to gather in pools in midair in front of her, then spiral around her body. Jean put a hand to her head and began rising into the air slowly. She then created a telekinetic bubble around her that was visibly keeping the rain from falling on her body. Wolverine and Shadowcat watched in amazement at the incredible display of power around them. Than an explosion behind them woke everyone from the daze they had gone into. They turned around and saw smoke coming from the ground right beside Remy. He pulled another card out of his pocket.

"I think it's time t'go."

"Right, bub. C'mon everyone! We're gettin' outta here!"

Everyone began to run towards the cabins, following Shadowcat. Wolverine grabbed Jean's shoulder as she took a step forward and walked beside her.

"By the way, Happy Birthday."

*****

Cyclops and Rogue met up with Shadowcat and Wolverine in the middle of the cabin area. Both duos were leading large groups of mutants. Nightcrawler appeared in the middle of the gathering with a bamf.

Storm was telling Wolverine and Cyclops the best ways to get out of the base when jeeps full of soldiers drove up and blocked every exit from the area. The base commander jumped down and ordered all the mutants to surrender.

Gambit threw a card into one of the jeeps and it exploded ferociously, knocking everyone to the ground. Once the flames subsided, Ryan, Remy's friend, turned and nodded at Remy.

"Thanks for the way out, pal! See ya 'round!"

Ryan laughed as he used his power to cause time to slow down around himself and Viper. Remy watched in shock as the two blurry figures sped away from the scene, abandoning him in the prison camp.

Once the soldiers emerged from their frightened panic, they began firing on the mutants. Everyone scattered and ran for cover. Cyclops grabbed Jean and pulled her into an alley between two cabins. Storm, Shadowcat, and Wolverine dove into another alley as Remy, Rogue, and Miss Marvel slipped into the unlocked door of one cabin. Kurt bamfed to the top of one of the cabins where he wouldn't be seen.

Shadowcat was peeking over the hunk of debris from Gambit's explosion to see what was happening. She looked across the road and saw a soldier looking right at her and loading his rifle with some sort of dart. He aimed it at her head and fired. Shadowcat watched the dart fly towards her and allowed it to phase through her forehead. She heard Wolverine grunt behind her and realized that she had just allowed the dart to hit him instead! She turned around quickly to check on him.

"Wolverine! Are you okay?!"

"Ungh, I'm fine, Half-pint, but I'd appreciate a warnin' next time." Wolverine turned around to see what had hit him.

Storm gasped when she saw the dart and realized what had just happened. "Wolverine, I'm afraid I don't have good news for you. That dart must have been filled with the same chemical that they have been using to suppress our powers. Fortunately, it looks like the dart only held about half of the amount they normally gave us. If I were to guess, I'd say that your powers will be gone for about 6 hours!"

Wolverine grunted at Storm as this sunk in. He pulled the dart out of his back and looked at it. He threw it to the ground and crawled out of the alley. Storm and Shadowcat watched with baited breath as he dove between pieces of debris and made his way over to the soldier that had shot him. He jumped over the soldier's barricade of debris and knocked the gun out of his hands. He punched the soldier in the jaw, then picked him up and punched him again. Warm streams of red blood gushed from his hand as his claws extended.

"There's nothing mutant about these, bub!"

Wolverine's blood mixed with the soldier's as Wolverine disemboweled him on the spot. Finally, Wolverine dropped the bloody carcass from his grip and continued on to the next unsuspecting soldier.

*****

Rogue listened to the gunfire from inside the cabin that she, Remy, and Miss Marvel had ducked into.

"So we meet again, chere," said Remy as he sat down next to Rogue.

Rogue blushed under her make-up and looked back at Remy. "Looks that way. What are you doing here?"

Before the two could say anymore though, they were interrupted by mumbling coming from Miss Marvel.

Rogue turned to the girl with concern. "What's wrong?"

Miss Marvel just sat against the far wall and muttered under her breath. Rogue managed to pick up the words "Daddy," "chemical," and "destroy" before Miss Marvel stood up, punched through the back wall of the cabin, and flew off.

"What was that about?" asked Rogue, turning to Remy.

"From the sound of it, I'd say she's goin' t'destroy the chemical dey used to hold back our powers," said Remy.

"What do you mean?" asked Rogue.

"Didn't ya hear? Dey got a chemical that suppresses mutant powers an' makes ya human for a while."

Rogue stared after Miss Marvel as she flew off across the base. She suddenly began chasing after the young mutant as fast as she could. Remy tried to go with her, but stopped when he heard a female voice call for help.

Rogue followed Miss Marvel until she stopped at a small building in the center of the base, pulled the door out of the doorway, and went inside. Rogue ran through the open door and found Miss Marvel overturning tables with all sorts of containers and vials.

"Hey! What do ya think you're doing?" yelled Rogue

"What I should have done a week ago!" yelled Miss Marvel in a rage as she smashed a table to the ground.

Rogue pulled off one glove as she tried to calm the girl down.

"Please, stop it! That chemical that you're destroying. It could be a blessing to some of us!"

Miss Marvel stopped and turned back to look at Rogue.

"This stuff is a weapon that my Dad made to kill mutants. It's no blessing!"

Rogue took a step forward.

"It is to me."

Miss Marvel looked at Rogue and frowned.

"Everyone wants to be normal, but this isn't the way to do it, sugar! My Dad invented this stuff. It's my duty to destroy it!" With that, Miss Marvel went back to throwing furniture and chemicals across the room with such force that the small building started to creak.

Rogue grabbed Miss Marvel's arm with her bare hand.

"Then I'll stop you myself!"

Miss Marvel screamed as power rushed out of her body. She tried to fly away, but hit the ceiling of the small building and couldn't break through due to her quickly diminishing strength. She fell back to the ground and tried to push Rogue away with all the energy she had left. Rogue let go, but the push from the incredibly strong Miss Marvel threw her into the wall. This last blow was all the structure could take and the ceiling began to cave in on the two girls. Miss Marvel groaned as a piece of wood hit her head, knocking her across the room and leaving her unconscious. Rogue tried to help her but the ceiling finally gave way and the whole building collapsed on top of her, knocking her unconscious as well. Rogue's body went limp and fell to the ground. Her bare hand landed on Miss Marvel's forehead.

*****

Cyclops watched as a severely bleeding Wolverine made his way to each of the soldiers one by one. Not long after Wolverine's initial attack, Nightcrawler had teleported into the middle of the army and begun fighting along with Wolverine. Jean had explained to Cyclops what must have happened when he couldn't figure out why Wolverine's wounds weren't healing. Cyclops used his blasts to cover Wolverine and Nightcralwer's backs while they fought.

Bolts of electricity kept flying around the street that had become a battleground. Some of these blasts came from Voltage. Others were from Storm.

Waverunner had tried to escape in the confusion after Gambit's explosion. Unfortunately, a soldier had found her and put his gun in her face. She surrendered and was currently sitting on the ground as the soldier had ordered. When the soldier went to help a friend of his, the girl cried for help.

The soldier came running back to her quickly and almost shot her, but decided against it. Just as he lowered his rifle, a small explosion came seemingly from his own body! When the smoke cleared, the soldier's legs lay on the ground and the rest of him was scattered around the area. Gambit was running up to Waverunner from behind where the soldier had been.

"Looks like ya got yerself in a spot o' trouble there, chere," he said as he untied her hands.

Waverunner laughed. "Yeah, you could say that. I'm good now though. Thanks."

"Don' mention it."

"Hey, can you help me get to the harbor? I think I can help out if I can get out there."

Gambit considered this for a moment. "Sure thing, chere. Let's go!"

The two raced off towards the waterfront.

*****

Wolverine let out a primal yell of pain and rage as he viciously attacked yet another soldier. He smiled to himself as he dropped the dead body. He could do this even without mutant powers! Then it returned. While he fought, he was only somewhat aware of the pain in his hands. The struggle to live overwhelmed the pain during these moments. However, each time he killed a soldier and got a chance to breathe, he was reminded of the immense pain that was shooting up his arms. He had never felt pain like this. It was almost unbearable and it only got worse as time went on. On top of that, he was losing a lot of blood. He watched the red liquid foam up as it pooled on the ground with the blood of the soldiers. He retracted his claws and looked at the three holes on the back of each hand. Ordinarily, they would immediately close when he retracted his claws, but not now. He stared at the holes until he passed out.

*****

"Wolverine's down!" said Cyclops as he stood up and began to charge towards the remaining soldiers. Jean stayed behind him and used her powers to protect him from the bullets and darts that were being fired at him. Nightcrawler teleported Wolverine's unconscious body away from the fight. Storm caused the wind to pick up and knock the guns out of the hands of some of the soldiers. Cyclops blasted away at the few soldiers left in the area until they were either scared off or blown away by the blasts.

*****

"There's the water, chere!" yelled Gambit over the noise of the explosions. He threw another two cards at the oncoming soldiers.

"Thanks, Remy! Now get out of here!" said Waverunner.

She took off towards the waterway. Storm's winds were causing the harbor to be unusually rough. Waverunner ran to the edge of the water and then continued on running over the surface of the water! She stopped in the middle of the harbor and turned around to face the base. She lifted her hands into the air and two huge pillars of water rose out of the harbor. She thrust her hands forward and the pillars collapsed on the battleship, snapping it in two.

Waverunner then turned her attention to shore. She sent wave after pounding wave towards the beach. Finally, she created a tsunami and directed it towards the construction area. The gigantic wave crashed against the metal Sentinel frames and crushed them under the weight of the tide. The construction pit filled with water as she emptied the harbor onto it. Wave after wave struck it with such force that when she finished, the dirt embankment was nothing more than a small hill.

*****

Gambit walked calmly into the administration building. He stepped up to the front desk and looked down. Cowering under the desk was the soldier that had checked Gambit and Jean in 4 days earlier. The soldier whimpered when he saw Gambit above him.

"Please don't hurt me!" he screamed.

Gambit sneered at the man, then walked around the desk and disappeared into the back of the room. When he reemerged, he was wearing the clothes that he had originally arrived in. Black spandex framed his face and covered his hands, leaving only his thumbs and index and pinkie fingers free. Metal plates lined his arms and legs and a dark pink breastplate covered his chest. Over all this, he was wearing his long brown trench coat. He smiled at the cowardly soldier who was still hiding under the desk.

"I told ya I'd be takin' back mah things, mon frere."

The soldier only whimpered in response as Gambit opened the front door. He looked back and tossed a card over the front desk, then walked outside and shut the door behind him.

The force of the explosion blew his hair around wildly as he walked away.

*****

"Has anyone seen Rogue?" asked Nightcrawler.

The battle was over and now they were just trying to find everyone. Most of the survivors were helping to round up the dead bodies from the street. Most of these bodies were mutants who had been killed by the soldiers when they first fired into the group. Others were soldiers who had been killed in the fighting. Storm and another of the prisoners who happened to be a doctor were caring for the injured in an open field. They paid special attention to Wolverine, who had lost enough blood that he faced a very real possibility of death. He was still unconscious, but his wounds had been wrapped up and the bleeding had finally stopped. Cyclops looked up when he heard Kurt's question.

"No, not since the army attacked us."

"Yeah, me neither! You don't think she, like, y'know…?" asked Kitty nervously. Flashbacks of Evan's face danced through her mind.

"No, she's alive," said Jean. "I can pick up her brain waves, but she's hurt. She's close, but I can't pinpoint…"

"Don't worry, I think I know where she is," said Remy as he walked up from behind Jean. "I just can't remember where dat building was. Hey chere, where'd dey keep de shots?"

Jean was taken aback as she tried to remember.

"They were in a small building somewhere over there, weren't they?" said Jean as she pointed to the west.

Remy looked that direction and tried to remember. "Yeah, dat's it. Dat's where she is."

"How do you know?" asked Scott.

"I was wid her when she left to go over dere. Now follow me."

Scott, Jean, and Kurt began following Remy across a field. Kurt leaned over to Scott as they walked and whispered to him.

"Can we trust thiz guy? I mean, doesn't he work for Magneto?"

Jean answered for Scott. "He used to, but not anymore. Magneto betrayed him."

Kurt nodded his understanding as they arrived at a pile of rubble.

"Uh, dis _is_ de spot, isn't it chere?"

"Yeah, this is where they kept the injections. Why would rogue come here though?"

"Cause dis is where your pretty little friend came. Miss Marvel or somethin'."

Jean took this in silently. Miss Marvel must have come here to destroy the chemicals out of some sense of responsibility.

"Well, it doesn't look like there's anyone here now," said Scott.

"Wait!" cried Jean. "Scott, she's under there! I can sense her brain waves. She's under all that rubble!"

"Vhat!" cried Kurt. 

He dove into the pile and began pulling bricks and wood beams out and throwing them across the field. Remy and Scott soon hit their knees and began helping Kurt. Jean used telekinesis to pull away the heavier objects. 

"I see her!" yelled Remy as he pulled a board away and opened up a hole that looked down at Rogue's face.

Kurt leaned over and looked down at his friend. "That's strange! She looks…different."

"Well, she did have a building fall on top of her," said Jean.

"No, I mean she looks different overall! I mean it's definitely Rogue, but her face is just different. She almost looks younger."

They kept pulling the debris away faster to get her out. Kurt pulled a large plank of wood away and threw it to the side. When he looked back down, he screamed and jumped back in horror.

"What's wrong, Kurt?" asked Scott.

Kurt just stared blankly into the hole. Scott climbed around and looked down, which was followed by the same reaction Kurt had had. 

There was another person down there. Their skin was wrinkled and their whole body seemed shriveled up. It was clearly a girl because she had long blonde hair that, strangely, looked normal; like it was still on a living body. But that couldn't be because this was clearly the body of someone who died years ago. Except for the hair, it looked like a mummy being pulled out of a pyramid!

"What's wrong?" asked Jean.

She stepped towards the pile and looked down into the hole. She screamed a high-pitched scream and fainted. Remy crawled over and looked down too.

"It's Miss Marvel!" he said in shock.

"What?!" cried Scott in amazement. "No way! It can't be! I mean, look at her. That body has been there for a long time and you said you saw Miss Marvel just four hours ago!"

"Yeah, but look at dat," said Remy calmly as he pointed to the shriveled face.

Scott and Kurt both gasped with realization as they noticed for the first time two fingers laying gently over the temple of the shriveled head. The arm they belonged to led up to Rogue's body.

Remy returned to digging in the rubble as Scott and Kurt sat on the ground in shock and disgust. Once he had a hole big enough for Rogue's body to fit through, Remy tried wake her up.

"Hey chere, wake up!" He got no response.

He stretched his arm through the hole and quickly tapped Rogue's forehead with his index finger. He felt a small amount of power drain from his body as Rogue's eyes flashed open.

"Huh?! Where am ah?" asked Rogue as she sat up slowly.

"You're okay, chere. Just grab my hand."

Rogue reached up with her gloved hand and Remy raised her out of the rubble. Rogue glanced around and noticed Kurt and Scott staring at her.

"What's wrong? You two look like ya seen a ghost or somethin'."

"In a way, we have," mumbled Scott under his breath.

He could now see what Kurt had meant. Rogue did look different. She looked younger in her face and her hair was a lighter shade of brown.

"Ya were trapped under all dat rubble," said Remy. "How do ya feel?"

"Fine. Thanks for rescuin' me, sugah."

*****

Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Remy, and Storm watched as the Blackbird landed in the field in front of them. The professor had been taking everyone back to the United States, but they obviously couldn't fit everyone on the Blackbird at once, so they had done it in shifts. All of the freed mutants that survived the day were now back in America and on their way home. Everyone that had been killed had been buried in a field. Now it was time to finally get out of Cuba. The X-men and Remy boarded the jet and strapped themselves in as the professor took off one last time. Wolverine was strapped in on a gurney in the Blackbird. He was still unconscious and probably wouldn't wake up until the effects of the dart wore off.

Rogue sat next to Remy and looked around her happily. They had waited until she wasn't around to remove Miss Marvel's body from the rubble and so far, they hadn't told her about what had happened.

"Well Remy," said Jean, "what are your plans now?"

Remy considered the question for a moment before answering.

"I dunno. I thought'd I'd go after Magneto, but my 'friends' abandoned me back dere. I guess I'll go after him myself."

"Alone?" asked the professor. "I don't suggest that."

"Den what _do_ ya suggest?"

"Well," said the professor, "we have an empty room at the mansion if you're interested. You proved today that you have what it takes to be an X-man."

Remy thought this option over for a while as he studied the faces around him. He smiled.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan, mon ami."


	10. Home Sweet Home

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A/N: I appreciate all the kind reviews. Thanks to all of you! For the record, I'm pretty open to criticism. If you happen to notice an inconsistency or you have a problem with something in this story, please let me know. I want to make this as good as it can be.

Once again, this is a very long chapter. But they will get a little shorter after this and there was a lot I needed to have in this chapter. Don't worry though, the next chapter is only about half the length of this one.

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UPDATE: Thanks to Shadowkeepre for his latest review where he pointed out a mistake on my part. I meant to add that in on this chapter and then got so into writing that I forgot to do it! So, I've come back and added it the way it was supposed to be. For those who already read this chapter, feel free to skim it and just read the parts you don't recognize. I apologize for the inconvenience.

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The group of mutants emerged from the Blackbird one by one and stepped foot back into the mansion. Actually, it wasn't technically the mansion. It was the basement that served as home for the X-Men. The mansion was above them on ground level. Logan walked to a computer embedded into the wall next to the door and punched a few buttons.

"It's clear, Chuck! Looks like the army cleared out three days ago."

"Very good," said the Professor. He turned around to face the X-Men. "We'll need to stay in the underground portion of the mansion until we know its safe to go back upstairs. Its quite possible that the army is keeping an eye on the Institute, so don't give them any reason to think we've returned."

"Professor, like, where are we gonna sleep if we have to stay down here?" asked Kitty.

"There are just as many bedrooms down here as there are upstairs, Kitty. I had anticipated that we might eventually have to hide out for a while so I took the liberty of adding them in. Storm, could you lead everyone to the rooms?"

Storm was standing a few feet away from everyone else and looking down. She nodded silently.

"Of course, professor." She waved her arm at the X-Men. "Follow me."

Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Jean, Scott, and Remy began following Storm down the hallway.

"Remy? Could I have a quick word with you?" called the Professor.

Remy turned around and looked back at the man in the wheelchair.

"Sure t'ing, mon ami."

Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, Jean, and Scott watched over their shoulders as they left the room. When the doors closed behind them, they turned around and continued following Storm to the living quarters. Storm stopped and turned down another corridor. This hall was lined with doors. She stopped at the first one.

"Girls will be on the right. Boys on the left. You can pick whichever rooms you want."

Storm walked back out of the corridor to leave the kids to argue over who would get which room. She walked slowly down the hallway that led back to the Professor. Soon, though, she had to stop and lean on the wall for support. Finally, tears began streaming down her cheeks. On the way home, she had been told about Evan, but the news was just now beginning to sink in. She was still yet to accept that she wouldn't see him again. She had managed to keep her composure on the jet, but now that she was alone, she began to cry like a little girl. She let the tears glide down her cheeks. Ordinarily, she would be worried about smearing her makeup, but for obvious reasons, she hadn't worn any makeup in over a week. Once she regained her composure, she returned to the hangar where Xavier and Logan were just finishing their talk with Remy.

"So how do I get to de rooms again, mon ami?" said Remy as he left the hangar.

"Walk straight down the hall and take the fifth left," said the professor.

"De _fifth_ left? Quite a place ya got here, mon ami!" Remy nearly ran into Storm as they passed each other in the doorway.

"Excuse me, chere."

Storm simply stepped to the side and let Remy by. She shut the door and walked towards Logan and Xavier slowly. They could immediately tell that she had been crying.

"Its okay, Ororo," said the Professor. "I know it must be hard to hear about Evan. To be honest, it hasn't really hit me yet. We've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to relax and take it all in yet. You have to let the tears out though. Don't try to bottle it all in."

Ororo nearly lost her composure again at the kind words.

"I'll be okay, Charles. But I need to leave. I have to tell my sister what happened. She deserves to know."

"Of course," said the professor. "Would you like someone to go with you?"

"No. Let me do this alone."

"Very well then. Take the X-van. It's our least suspicious vehicle."

"Thank you Charles." Ororo turned to leave.

"You sure yer gonna be okay?" asked Logan.

She turned back around and faced her friends.

"I'll be fine."

*****

"Whoa! These are, like, just as nice as our other rooms!" exclaimed Kitty. She turned around in time to see Jean stick her head through the doorway and look in.

"Wow! I knew the professor had rooms down here, but I never dreamed they were this nice!" said Jean as she looked around Kitty's room. "I just assumed they were small little bunks that were meant for short-term stays."

Jean moved down and opened the door to the room next to Kitty's. It was basically the same room. They were all apparently decorated the same, but it was still much nicer than she had expected. She walked in and sat down on the bed.

"Not bad, eh?" said Scott as he stepped into the room. 

"No, not at all!"

"Y'know, I never got a chance to wish you a happy birthday."

Jean smiled and moved over to make room for him on the bed.

"I was wondering if you even remembered!" joked Jean.

Scott sat down and looked at the beautiful redhead beside him.

"I was really worried about you. You promised me that it'd be a quick trip."

"Well, I thought it would be." Jean sighed as she leaned over to rest her head on Scott's shoulder. "It's good to be home. I was really wondering if we'd ever get out of there."

Scott's heart skipped a beat at the touch. He put his arm around her body and held her close to him.

"So how did you find us, anyway?" asked Jean.

"Actually, Logan found you. He heard where you were on the news yesterday and we took off this morning to rescue you."

Jean smiled and tried to just savor this moment. Unfortunately, the moment was killed when Remy passed by the doorway. Scott frowned at the sight of the Cajun inside the mansion.

"I don't see why the professor let him come back with us."

Jean looked up in shock. "You mean Remy? I like him. He's a good guy."

"I don't trust him. I mean, he's been working for Magneto for years now. He's even fought against us before! Why should we suddenly just trust him for no reason?"

Jean lifted her head off Scott's shoulder and looked him in the eye, or at least as best she could. "Magneto betrayed him. Remy hates Magneto now. He's on our side. Besides, do you really think the Professor would let him come here if he thought there was a genuine risk?"

Scott's jaw tightened. In all honesty, he did think the Professor would overlook a genuine risk if he thought he could help Remy. He wasn't one to question the Professor's judgment, but he felt like allowing Remy to join the X-Men was a mistake.

"I don't know. But a dislike for Magneto doesn't automatically mean he's on our side."

Jean eyed Scott in surprise for a moment. It wasn't like him to voice a concern about a decision the Professor had made. But then again, it had been a long and stressful day for everyone. She decided that this wasn't worth arguing over right now and she laid her head back on his shoulder as changed the subject. 

"I can't believe what happened to Evan. I mean, he was here when I left and the next time I see any of you, you're telling me that he's been killed!"

Scott frowned even harder. He had avoided thinking about Evan ever since he, Kurt, and Logan had disposed of the body. There was a long silence before Scott responded.

"I tried to protect him, Jean. But I just couldn't. I messed up. I let my guard down and the Sentinel got a shot off at me. It knocked me over and by the time I got back up, it was too late. Thanks to me, Evan's dead!"

"Scott, it wasn't your fault. You did everything you could for him, just like you would for me or anybody else. The Sentinel just got a good hit in and knocked you down. I've fought a Sentinel before and I know that they're nearly impossible to beat! That thing was designed to kill mutants, and that's exactly what it did. Don't blame yourself for not being able to stop it. It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it is! I'm the leader. Everyone else looks to me for leadership when things go bad. Part of my job is protecting my team and I failed. Maybe it isn't entirely my fault, but part of the blame does rest on me."

Jean saw one tear fall from underneath his red shades. She realized that this was not a conversation Scott wanted to have at all. She decided that it might be best if they went to check on the others as they all settled in to their new homes. She stood up from the bed and reached one hand down to help Scott up.

"Let's go see how everyone else is doing."

Scott grabbed her hand and let her pull him up.

"Sure. Why not?"

The two mutants stepped into the hallway and were met by Kitty. Soon, Kurt teleported into the hall with two duffel bags. He handed one to Kitty.

"Zhere you go, Kitty. Hey! You two need me to go get your stuff?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, Kurt!" said Scott.

Kurt dropped the bag that was left in his hand and disappeared in a flash of smoke. Jean turned to face Scott.

"Look, it's been a week since I've been able to clean up and I feel horrible. I'm gonna go take a shower. When Kurt gets back, tell him to put my stuff in my room."

"No problem," said Scott. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

"And don't worry about Evan," she whispered in his ear. "You couldn't have stopped it." With that, she let go of Scott and turned to head for the bathrooms.

"That sounds like a good idea!" said Kitty. "I feel really dirty after that fight!" She ran to catch up with Jean.

Scott watched Jean walk away with a smile. It was good to have her back.

"So I take it you two are an item den, neh?"

Scott turned around to find Remy standing a few feet behind him and leaning on a doorpost with his arms crossed. He had taken off his trench coat and armor, but was still wearing the black and blue spandex body suit.

"Yeah, we are," said Scott more defensively than he had meant to.

Remy pushed himself off the doorpost and slowly shifted his weight onto his feet. "Are dere any other couples I should know about 'round here?"

Scott looked up and down at Remy and decided for sure that he didn't like him. "Why?"

"Just curious, mon ami. Ya don' gotta get defensive."

Scott opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the reappearance of Kurt between him and Remy.

"Hey, here's your bag. Where's Jean?" said Kurt as he handed a duffel bag to Scott.

"She's cleaning up. Just set it in her room."

"Zure thing!"

Kurt disappeared, then quickly reappeared without the bag.

"Vhat did the Professor talk to you about?" he asked Remy.

"Ah, de usual for any new student, I'm sure," he said. "Told me de ground rules an' said somethin' 'bout respectin' others."

Rogue emerged from her new room and joined the small gathering of mutants in the hallway. The boys watched her coming as she walked towards the group. No one had told her about Miss Marvel yet and if she knew what had happened, she wasn't showing it.

"Hey, what's goin' on out here and why wasn't ah invited?" she said teasingly.

"Hey chere. We was just talkin' 'bout me joining up with y'alls little group."

Scott flinched at the term "little group."

"We're called the X-Men."

"Course ya are, mon ami."

"C'mon Scott. He didn't mean anythin' by it, did ya, sugah?"

"Nah. It was just an expression. Calm down, mon ami. I thought we left de fightin' back in Cuba."

Scott frowned. "Just make sure you get it right from now on."

"I will, mon ami. So, didn't you guys used ta have another member? Spiky, or something like that?"

"You were on the Blackbird when we told Jean and Storm about him," said Scott. "He was killed by a Sentinel."

"Oh yeah," said Remy, who had legitimately forgotten about hearing the story on the flight to the mansion. "I didn' know his name, so I wasn't sure who ya was talkin' 'bout."

"He vas a good guy," said Kurt sadly.

"Yeah, ah still can't believe he's gone," said Rogue.

She shivered as she remembered the look in his eyes as he died. She would never forget that feeling she had absorbed from him in his last moments. It had been such a strange feeling when he actually died and she could touch him without feeling any power rushing into her body. She had actually seen his life flash before her eyes! She had seen parties, fights with Pietro, and even scenes from battles that the X-Men had fought. It was a moment that she couldn't forget no matter how much she wanted to. At times, she wondered if she had done the right thing by touching him that day. She justified it though by reminding herself that he would've died anyway and, after all, he had been paralyzed by the blows he took!

Scott looked from the ceiling to the floor and then back again. He was tired of talking about Evan. 

"I'm gonna take a look around and make sure everything's alright," said Scott. "See you guys later." He turned, walked away from the group, and headed for the living area.

"Wait up! I'll go with you!" called Kurt as he teleported out of sight.

Rogue looked around and realized that she had been left alone with Remy. 

"Ah wanted ta thank ya for pulling me outta that hole back there."

Remy smiled. "It was nothin', chere."

"You looked worried when ah woke up. Was somethin' wrong?"

Remy paused. "Nah, nothin' wrong. Why do ya ask?"

Rogue smiled. When Remy touched her forehead to wake her up, she had picked up his emotions and she knew for a fact that he had been worried if she was okay.

"No reason."

Remy looked at the girl in front of him. She was beautiful. He'd thought that since they'd first met. He smiled as he thought about the possibilities of living in the same house as her.

"So chere, do ya remember anythin' that happened 'fore dat building fell on ya?"

Rogue thought back. "No. I remember talkin' to you after the army attacked us, and I vaguely remember leaving and chasin' someone. After that its all kinda fuzzy, though. Why?"

"Just curious." Remy didn't want to be the one to break the news about what had happened to her. He'd let the professor do that. 

*****

Charles Xavier rolled his wheelchair into his room and shut the door. He let out a long sigh as he rolled across the room and looked in the mirror. There had only been two times in his life that he hadn't recognized the reflection in the mirror. The first was on the day he realized with startling certainty that he was different from anyone else he'd ever known. Decades before he heard the word mutant, it was clear his mind set him apart from his friends and family. The second time was when he woke on a windy morning in Tibet and realized he would never walk again. While the face had been the same, he had felt for a time that he was somehow less than a person for his handicap.

On this afternoon, it was another emotion that had twisted his features beyond recognition. On this afternoon, he was finally forced to deal with the death of Evan Daniels, an innocent child who had trusted him. On this day, his was a face marred by failure.

"What have I done?" he asked the man in the mirror. "Most of these kids had lives before I talked them into coming here. They had friends, families, futures! What do they have now? I took them away from their families. I made them form new friendships. I can't ensure their future! When I started this school, I hoped I could bring about peace in the world, but I'm beginning to fear that all that awaits these poor kids is death at the hands of those who hate them. And it will all be my fault!"

Then, words from the past echoed across his mind in the voice of Eric Lensherr.

__

"Tell me Charles, if not an army, what are you going to build?"

He closed his eyes when he heard the words again. Just like the first time he heard them, he cringed. The X-Men were not an army. He formed the group to help people. And yet, he had to admit that they were well-trained fighters! They had been taught how to use their powers in combat situations and had been involved in many battles so far, most recently with the United States Army!

A knock came from the door. Xavier didn't move, didn't look telepathically to see who was there, but simply told them to come in. The door opened and Hank McCoy entered the room.

"Hi there, Charles. Good to see you again."

Xavier looked up with surprise and turned around.

"Hank! I didn't expect you back for another week at least!"

"Well, I heard the news and came as soon as I could. Its not easy traveling right now when you look like this though."

"Yes, I can imagine. I'm glad you've returned safely."

Hank looked at Xavier and could tell something wasn't right.

"What's wrong, Charles? You look horrible!"

Xavier looked away and motioned for Hank to sit down.

"Evan was killed in battle."

Hank's jaw dropped when he heard this.

"What?! How did that happen?!"

"A Sentinel. It happened a week ago. Hank, he was only 15 years old!"

Hank sat back as this soaked in.

"Have I done the right think in bringing these kids here, Hank?"

The furry blue man looked up at his old friend in surprise. "Of course you have! One tragedy doesn't mean the rest are tragedies or that they'll become tragedies. Look at the kids you've got here, Charles. As a former teacher at Bayville, I'm telling you that your kids are the best ones in this town. You shouldn't be worried about them."

Xavier looked up and smiled for the first time in a week. "Thank you, Hank. Welcome home."

"You're welcome, Charles. And thank you. It's good to be home."

"I'm sure it is," said the Professor as he began rolling towards the door. "Now I'm afraid I have a horrible task to do and I'd appreciate it if you would accompany me. Do you mind?"

Hank stood up and followed the Professor out the door.

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"I'll fill you in on the way."

*****

Rogue was busy packing her clothes into her new dresser. She looked up into her mirror and frowned. There was something wrong with her appearance, but she couldn't quite place it. She leaned closer to the glass and studied her reflection. Every line was the same. Every hair fell the same way. And yet, the lines were different. The hair was unfamiliar. She ran her hands through her hair and moved her head from side to side as she took in as much of her reflection as she could. A knock on the door startled her and she jumped back and sat down on the bed.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Professor Xavier came in followed by Mr. McCoy.

"Mr. McCoy! When'd you get here?"

"Just now." said the Beast as he looked at Rogue in a strange way. She wondered what he was looking at.

"Rogue, we'd like to talk to you for a minute," said the Professor.

"Sure. What about?"

Mr. McCoy closed the door and they both came closer to the bed she was sitting on. The Professor spoke first.

"Rogue, do you remember anything before you were knocked out?"

Rogue was surprised by the question. It was the same thing Remy had asked her earlier. She began to wonder if something had happened that she didn't know about.

"Ah remember me 'n Remy were in this cabin with some other girl. We were talkin' and then this other girl just jumped up, knocked down the wall, and flew away. Ah think Ah remember chasing her or somethin'. Ah don't know. It gets fuzzy right about there. Why do ya ask?"

The Professor looked back at her with such a strange look that Rogue began to get worried.

"There's something you need to know. Before Remy pulled you out of the rubble, they found another person down there. Rogue, does the name Carol Danvers mean anything to you?"

Rogue's eyes widened. The name was strangely familiar. It almost felt like her own name! She began to see memories flash before her eyes. A young blonde girl running in a big backyard being chased by her mother. A birthday party for the same girl, now older. Everyone at the party seemed happy except for one man in the corner. Jean and Storm were sitting in a room talking to the man and the woman she had seen in the earlier memories. Then the same blonde-haired girl walked into the room, this time much older. The man stabbed Jean and Storm in the necks, then came towards Rogue! She turned to run, but he tackled her from behind. She screamed. She could hear her mother yelling at her father to stop. She felt a pain in her shoulder that quickly spread down to her chest and around her whole body. Her vision blurred until she could see nothing but darkness. She got very cold and began to shiver. She felt like she was falling through pitch black nothingness. She could feel the wind whipping against her. Suddenly, she heard the Professor's voice calling to her.

"Rogue! Are you okay?"

"Professor? What's going on?!"

"Hang on Rogue! We're going to help you!"

"Professor!"

She felt herself stop in midair. She was hovering now. No, she was laying on a bed. She could feel the mattress below her. There was a sharp pain on the inside of her elbow. She tried to look around, but she couldn't see anything. She realized her eyes were closed. She opened them and a bright light shone against her face. Slowly, two figures began to blur into view. Mr. McCoy and the Professor were looking down at her. The Professor smiled.

"Are you okay, Rogue? How do you feel?"

Rogue groaned. "Like a train hit me. What happened."

"You blacked out. Hank and I brought you to the infirmary. Rogue, I want you to listen to me and focus on me. When you were knocked out in Cuba you accidentally absorbed another girl. The two of you were both unconscious for so long that you eventually absorbed all of her energy into you without meaning to. That girl was Carol Danvers."

Rogue listened to the Professor's words. He had to be wrong. She felt just the same as she always did. She knew what it felt like to have another person inside of her and she knew that she did not currently sense another personality floating around in her mind. But then again, what was that blackout all about? What about those memories she just saw? Those weren't her memories. The girl in them hadn't been her. But then, at the same time, it _had_ been her! It didn't feel like someone was inside of her, but she had to admit that something strange was going on.

"Carol Danvers was the girl that Jean and Storm went to recruit," continued the Professor. "She was captured along with Jean and Storm and taken to Cuba."

"Is she okay?" asked Rogue.

The Professor bit his lip for a moment. Rogue knew that was a bad sign.

"I'm afraid she didn't make it."

Rogue heard the words, but they didn't make sense. "What?"

"I'm afraid that you completely absorbed her, Rogue. She died."

This time, Rogue understood what the Professor was saying. She closed her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts. Soon, she was asleep.


	11. Villians Unite!

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A/N: As promised, this chapter is much shorter than the rest. Basically, this one is for all you Brotherhood fans. Enjoy it because this is the one and only chapter dedicated solely to the Brotherhood. They'll be appearing in later chapters, but will never star in one again. I've taken some light attempts at humor in this thing simply because the Brotherhood seem to be the comedic relief of the show and besides, we could use a lighter chapter after all that killing and arguing in the last few, right?

-----------------------------------------

"Hey Lance, have you seen my brown shirt?" asked Pietro as he ran through the living room of the Brotherhood house. He was looking under, behind, and generally all around the furniture that cluttered the room. 

"No, did you check your closet?" asked an annoyed Lance as he turned up the volume on the TV.

Pietro continued his search. "Yeah. It wasn't in there. That's my favorite shirt too. I gotta find it!"

He picked up a brown piece of fabric. "Found it! Oh wait, this isn't my shirt. What is this thing anyway? Oh well, nevermind!"

He threw the shirt over his shoulder and it landed on the TV, blocking the screen.

"Hey! Watch it! I like this movie!" shouted Lance as he got up to remove the mysterious brown garment.

Pietro looked at the screen quickly and scoffed. "You like The Hulk?! That was the worst movie of the decade!"

Lance looked up at the speed-demon defensively. "I happen to like it, okay. Now why don't you go look for your precious shirt upstairs."

"How could anyone actually like that heap of garbage?!" asked Pietro, enjoying this chance to annoy Lance. "I mean, the Hulk is the worst character in the history of American culture!"

Just then, Toad came hopping through the door wearing Pietro's shirt. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Lance glared at Toad as he turned the volume up again. "Y'know, I gotta disagree with you on that one, Pietro."

"Hey! That's my shirt! Whaddya-think-you're-doing-wearing-my-favorite-shirt?!"

"What, this old thing?" answered Toad. "I kinda like it. Besides, it looks better on me than it does on you, know what I mean, yo?"

Pietro rushed at Toad and ripped the shirt off of him before the boy could even flinch.

"Hey! That's not fair, yo!"

"Ugh! You got slime all over it! That's it, Toad! Stay outta my room!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Speedy."

"If you two are gonna bicker, then could you please do it someplace else?" cried Lance desperately as he again turned up the volume.

"Nah, I'm cool, yo," said Toad. "Besides, I like this movie." He hopped onto the couch next to Lance and propped his feet on the table in front of them.

"You would," muttered Pietro as he sped upstairs.

Fred came down the stairs and entered the room.

"Hey guys. Whatcha watching?"

"Hulk, yo," said Toad.

"Alright! That's my favorite movie!" yelled Fred as he ran over and sat on the couch, causing Lance's end to noticeably rise a few inches into the air.

"That's it! I'm gonna go see what's going on upstairs," said Lance as he jumped off the couch and left the room.

Toad and Fred watched him leave, then turned back to the movie.

"Oh well. More popcorn for us!" said Toad gleefully.

Lance passed Wanda on the staircase on his way up.

"I wouldn't go down there if I were you," he warned her. "Fred's watching the Hulk and you know how it 'inspired' him last time."

"Oh! Thanks for the heads-up," said Wanda as she turned around to go back upstairs. She glanced over at the kitchen counter, which they had been forced to replace after Fred smashed it the last time he saw The Hulk."

Lance walked into his room and shut the door behind him. He lay down on his bed and grabbed a small rubber ball, which he began throwing against the wall and catching.

Soon, the door rushed open and a streak of light announced Pietro's entry into the room. The streak of light stopped in the corner of the room, where Pietro sat down in Lance's chair.

"Hey Rocky. Finally give up on your misguided hopes that the movie might actually be good this time?"

"Shut up, Pietro."

"Hey, don't kill the messenger. I told you it was bad."

"Where's your precious shirt?"

Pietro scowled. "In the laundry. I'm not wearing it right after Toad did! It has to be washed at least three times now before it'll be wearable again!"

"Good point." Lance bounced the ball off the wall again.

"So Lance, what do you think's gonna happen with this new law? I mean, should we be hiding or something?"

Lance grimaced at the thought of the Anti-Mutant Act and dropped his ball. "I think Kelly's gonna report us eventually. So yeah, we really should be getting outta here, but we got nowhere to go."

"So-you-think-we're-gonna-get-captured?!" said Pietro in one breath.

"I don't know, but it's possible, y'know what I mean?"

"Well-don't-you-think-maybe-we-should-be-trying-to-find-somewhere-to-go-just-in-case-we-gotta-leave?!"

"I think we should be ready to run at a moments notice. Always be prepared to get out of here fast. But hey, it's been 8 days since that law passed and nuthin's happened yet. So who knows?"

Pietro began to calm down a little bit. "Yeah, that's true. I heard they're taking the prisoners to Cuba or somethin' like that."

"Yeah, I heard that too. I don't know. Maybe we'll be fine here and maybe not. It's hard to say."

"Yeah. Hey, I'm hungry!" Pietro disappeared, then returned a few seconds later with a plate full of sandwiches. "So…" he took a bite from a sandwich, "where do you propose we go in case of government attack?"

Lance tried not to look at the half-eaten sandwich in Pietro's open mouth. "I don't know. You got any ideas?"

"Nah, not really. Maybe we could…" He was cut off by the doorbell. "Too late. Sounds like they're already here!" joked Pietro.

He set his plate on Lance's bed and rushed downstairs. As soon as he started to open the door, it was pushed open from the outside and Pietro was forced back against the wall. A man in a trench coat came in the room and quickly shut the door behind him.

"Pyro?!" said Lance from the top of the stairs. "What are you doing here?!"

Pyro looked up at Lance, then back at Pietro who was rubbing the back of his head where it had been knocked against the wall.

"Hey boys! How're things going?" he said jovially as he took off his coat. He was wearing his uniform under the coat.

"Not bad, yo!" said Toad as he hopped into the room.

"What's this about?" asked Wanda, who stood in the corner of the room with her arms crossed.

"Well, it's your lucky day! Magneto wants you guys to help him on his next project," he said in his distinctive Australian accent.

"What's the project?" asked Lance suspiciously.

"Destroying a city. Personally, I can't wait!"

"Which city?" asked Pietro.

"Chicago."

"Why?" asked Wanda.

"Why not?! It'll be fun and it'll be your first mission for Magneto. He really wants your help, so if I were you, I'd do it."

"Where's Gambit?" asked Lance. "Magneto usually sends him when he wants us to do something."

Pyro flinched. "Gambit's out of action and off the team."

"Why?"

"He accidentally led the army to our base," said Pyro nonchalantly. "So you guys in?"

The Brotherhood looked around at each other with quizzical faces.

"Yeah, we're in," said Lance with a sigh.

"Alright! Grab your things then. We're outta here."


	12. Something in the Way She Moves

****

A/N: Okay, I was gonna wait a little longer before posting this chapter, but I'm not feeling the love for the Brotherhood chapter, so I decided to go ahead and put this up. I hope you like it more.

This chapter marks a milestone in this fic. We have reached the point where every chapter that I have finished has been posted. Up until now, I've been about 3 chapters ahead of what had been posted. As a result, expect to see longer gaps between updates from now on. I promise that this will not lower the quality of the fic though. Rest assured that I intend to this right.

Keep reviewing. Let me know what you think so far. Seriously, I thrive on your reviews so keep em coming! And incidentally, for those who missed the announcement, ch. 10, Home Sweet Home, was revised at one point to cover more emotional response to Evan's death. You may want to read back over it, but nothing that was added will be all that important in future chapters.

Without further ado, enjoy the new chapter!

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Logan charged down a long hallway in the mansion with his claws out. He turned to the left and entered the elegant kitchen. He stopped long enough to smell everything around him, then ducked just in time to avoid the gunshot from his right. He jumped towards his attacker and kicked him in the head, knocking the masked man unconscious.

He got up quickly and ran past the man to find Jean tied up and gagged in a chair. There was another masked man with a rifle standing in front of her. He raised the rifle to his shoulder as Wolverine charged at him. Wolverine jumped at the man in a high, arched leap. He heard the gun go off and felt the sting of a bullet tearing into his shin. He fell on top of the man, impaling him with his claws on contact.

Logan got up quickly and moved towards Jean. He cut her loose with his claws while he pulled the gag down from her mouth.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thank you!"

"Don't mention it, Red."

"Very nice job, Logan. You nearly beat your record." Professor Xavier's voice echoed around them as the Danger Room session ended and the mansion turned back into the cold steel room.

"Thanks, Chuck. I coulda done better though. I got caught off-guard by that guy in the bedroom. Could've sworn she was in there when I heard him bangin' around."

"Yes, well you're getting better with each session."

Logan led Jean through the sliding doors of the Danger Room and back into the hallway.

"Thanks for bein' willin' to help out, Red."

"No problem, Logan. I enjoyed it."

Logan smiled as he eyed her suspiciously. "Ya enjoyed bein' a prisoner for 5 straight runs?"

Jean laughed. "Well, it was kinda fun in a way. I mean, it _is_ every girl's dream to get rescued by a knight in shining armor, even if his armor is grafted to his bones!"

Logan smiled. That had been one reason he asked her to help out with his session in the first place. "Well, you play a good damsel in distress."

"Thanks," said Jean.

Logan was grappling with himself on what to say now. He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her how glad he was to have her home safely. He wanted to tell her how worried he had been about her while she was in Cuba. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. But the words just weren't coming. He looked into her eyes and felt himself plunge into them. At that moment, he gave up resisting. He loved her and he couldn't deny it any longer. He opened his mouth to say something. He wasn't sure what words would come out, but he had to tell her how he felt and this was the perfect chance.

"Jean! There you are! I've been looking all over for you." Scott emerged from the hallway and put his arm around his girlfriend.

"Hey Scott. What's up?"

"We're starting a movie in the den. I couldn't find you so I told everyone to wait while I looked for you. Where have you been?"

"I was helping Logan in the Danger Room," she said as she turned to walk away with Scott.

The two left Logan standing by himself outside the Danger Room doors.

Logan let down his rough exterior and sighed. _Why is it that nothing ever works out right?_

Jean turned around when she got to the entrance of the hallway. "Logan? You wanna watch the movie with us?"

He looked up at her beautiful eyes. "No. You two go ahead. I've got some things to do."

"Okay. See ya later then!" She waved as she rounded the corner and disappeared from his view.

Logan watcher her leave and sighed again. He slowly began walking to the Danger Room control booth to talk to Charles.

__

She and Scott are already together. It'd be wrong to break them up. Unless, of course, she wanted to break it off. Then it'd be okay. She did ask me if I wanted to join them. Maybe I should've gone. Right, and maybe she was just being polite to the 100 year old guy that never shows any emotion.

Logan suddenly stopped in his tracks as a realization hit him.

__

I sound like one of the kids! I sound like some kind of idiot teenager worryin' 'bout his latest crush!

He groaned as another realization scared him even more.

__

I sound like Kitty!

He shook the thoughts from his head and continued walking towards the control booth. He walked through the doors and found the Professor talking to Gambit. The Cajun was holding his new uniform, which was dark blue with a yellow belt and a black and red X on each shoulder. There were two red stripes going down the chest that stopped at the belt.

"Dere is now way I'm wearin' dis t'ing, Professor!" said Remy defiantly.

"Look Remy. You're free to make any changes you want, as long as they're reasonable."

It was clear to Logan that the argument had been going on for a while and the Professor no longer cared what Gambit's uniform looked like.

"Any changes I want?"

"Yes. Whatever you want to change, feel free to change it. But you must make the changes yourself and you must have the X-logo on it somewhere."

Remy smiled. "Sounds good, mon ami. T'anks!" He turned and nodded at Logan as he left the room.

"Looks like ya got a feisty one yer hands there," said Logan.

The Professor frowned. "Yes, but I have faith in him. He just isn't used to living under the mansion's rules yet."

"He don't seem like one t'play by the rules at all, Chuck. No matter how long he lives here."

"Well, he is a good addition to the team anyway. And we needed someone to take Evan's spot on the team."

"Yeah, I know." Logan changed the topic quickly before the Professor started talking about Evan. "So what'd ya think of the session?"

The Professor reached down and pushed a button on the main computer. "You did very well. I was impressed! You haven't run a session like that in months!"

"I guess I got some pent up aggression to get out with all the stuff goin' on."

Xavier smiled. "And you had an extra incentive today, too, I believe."

"What do ya mean?"

"You were rescuing Jean and it seemed to make you work twice as hard."

Logan had been hiding his emotions for most of his life, but it was hard to suppress his shock and embarrassment at the Professor's words.

"What are ya talkin' about, Chuck?"

"Logan, I'm a telepath and people tend to project thoughts when they're in love. I could pick up a few of your thoughts as you ran the course."

Logan's jaw dropped. If Charles knew, then so did…

"Jean doesn't know," said Xavier. "The nature of the program caused her to suffer some flashbacks of her time in Cuba while you searched for her, so she wasn't able to hear your thoughts. However, I would suggest that you be more careful when you're around her from now on."

Logan stared at Xavier for a moment while he searched for words. The silence lasted for minutes as the two men tried to read each other's faces.

"So then, are ya gonna give me a sermon on how wrong I am here?"

"No, I'm not. You and Jean are both adults and for me to interfere with your lives would be wrong. However, as a friend of you both, I will say that I disapprove of a relationship between you. Logan, she already has Scott. And she's happy right now."

"I know it, Chuck. But I can't help it! Everytime I see her, I just fall into a trance, y'know what I mean?"

"I do. I was once in love myself. Just watch your step. If you decide to act on your feelings, I beg you to consider what could happen."

"Gotcha Chuck. I'll think about it."

"Thank you, Logan."

*****

That evening, all the X-Men were gathered around the dinner table and sharing a delicious meal that had been fixed by Beast and Ororo, who had returned that afternoon. Even Rogue was there. She had spent the last two days in the infirmary, but was now stable again and able to venture out with the rest of the X-Men. She was still weak, but it seemed that her ordeal was over. Beast and the Professor were keeping a watchful eye on her, and both had noticed that she had been acting different than before. It was clear that a piece of Carol Danvers had been permanently absorbed into Rogue's mind, but Rogue had eventually won control of her mind and body and now Miss Marvel was nothing but a memory.

Logan couldn't help but notice Jean and Scott. They were sitting together and having a great time. She was laughing and generally enjoying herself.

__

She's beautiful when she's happy like this.

Jean suddenly glanced towards Logan and smiled at him. He smiled back feebly.

__

Did she just hear that?!

"No, but I did," said the Professor's voice in his mind.

Logan looked across the table to find Charles looking right at him. Logan smiled and lifted his glass to the Professor with an air of mockery. Xavier frowned and returned to his dinner.

Logan went back to watching Jean as he ate. This was starting to kill him. He had to do something! It was time to make up his mind. Would he say something to her or wouldn't he? He debated this question throughout dinner. When Beast brought out the dessert, he still wasn't sure what to do. He ate the piece of chocolate cake that was set in front of him and meditated on the problem at hand. As he finished his dessert, he made up his mind. He was going to tell her. He began to lay plans of how to get her alone. He knew it had to be tonight. If he waited any longer, he felt it would tear him apart from the inside out!

Suddenly, Remy stood up from his seat.

"S'cuse me everybody, but I got an announcement t'make."

The room got quiet as everyone turned to the Cajun.

"Actually, I got two announcements. First, I wanted ta t'ank y'all fer lettin' me come here. But mostly, fer bein' kind ta me. I'm sure its hard to accept me as I used ta be an enemy, but y'all are all being pretty good ta me an' I just wanted ta let ya know I appreciated it."

The X-Men all began telling him that it was nothing, but he quickly stopped them by raising his hand.

"De next announcement ain't as happy. As y'all know, I used t'work fer Magneto. I happen ta know 'bout an attack dat he's plannin'. He's goin' ta attack Chicago in 2 days. I don' know 'xactly what he's plannin'. But he's gonna take de Broderhood wid 'im an' I'm sure he's got some crazy plan in de works. Just t'ought y'all oughta know."

The table was silent. Everyone stared at each other and then eventually back to their plates. Logan couldn't believe it. They were going to have to go after Magneto. That meant going out and exposing themselves to the government! After a long silence, Xavier finally spoke.

"You're sure, Remy?"

"Positive."

"Well then, it seems we have another battle ahead of us. We'll train tomorrow and leave for Chicago tomorrow evening."

Logan was in shock. Of all the times this could have happened, why did it have to happen on the night he was going to talk to Jean?! He sighed and took a drink to wet his dry mouth. His plans would have to wait.

*****

Everyone went to bed early that night. The next day would be tough. They would spend the whole day training in the Danger Room, where they could learn the Chicago landscape and figure out how to maneuver it.

Logan and Xavier entered Rogue's room after dinner. The girl was pulling out her uniform from the dresser and getting it ready for tomorrow.

"Hello, Rogue," said the Professor, "could we talk?"

Rogue looked up at the two mutants and sat down on her bed. "Sure."

Xavier hesitated, then finally told her exactly what was on his mind. "I think it would be best if you stayed here while the X-Men go to Chicago."

"What?! Why?" asked Rogue quickly.

"I'm worried about you and I don't think you're ready to fight. You're still weak from your time in the infirmary. I'm going to stay here with you while the others go to stop Magneto."

"And do what?! Sit around an' watch the fight on the news? Ah'm part of this team and ah should be there with them!"

"The decision has been made, Rogue. We'll spend some time in the Danger Room to help you get back to your full capabilities."

"Logan? Help me out here! Fightin' Magneto is a big deal an' we need as many people there as we can get!"

Logan thought for a moment before he answered her. "We're worried 'bout ya, Rogue. It's nothin' personal. We just wanna make sure yer okay."

"This ain't fair!" yelled Rogue as she slammed her fist into her mattress. The floor suddenly cracked under the bed's four legs. The three mutants looked down in shock when they heard the metal floor crack.

"Whoa. What was that?" said Rogue in shock.

The Professor studied the floor. "That was one reason I want you to stay behind. Carol Danvers' power was inhuman strength and flight. I believe you may have picked up more than just her mind." He looked back up into Rogue's face. "That is why I'm asking you to stay behind. Rogue, I know it's hard, but it seems that you have picked up Carol's powers permanently and we need to make sure you can control them before we send you into battle."

Rogue nodded, but never took her eyes off the cracks in the floor. "Sure, Professor. Ah think ah see what you're sayin'."


	13. The Search for Magneto

****

A/N: This chapter is very long. It's by far the longest chapter yet. But it has a lot in it and I really would've liked to have gotten even more in this chapter!

I include a lot of Chicago landmarks here. It has been over a year since I've been to Chicago, so please forgive me if I made a mistake. For those who are familiar with Chicago, I hope you're able to follow everyone through the city. For those who aren't familiar with Chicago, It's not that important.

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The X-Men suited up in their rooms and then headed for the hangar where Rogue and the Professor were waiting to see them off. Once everyone was there, Xavier had them gather around so he could talk to them before they left.

"You've all seen Magneto at work before. I don't have to tell you how dangerous he is. Likewise, you've fought the Brotherhood before too, and I don't have to tell you how important it is not to underestimate them. We don't know exactly what Magneto has in store for us today, but I'm sure that there must be something more going on than we realize. It is not like him to simply attack a city for the fun of it. Keep your eyes open at all times for his true goal. I also want you to keep in mind that it is quite possible that the army will show up to fight you. If you can avoid it, don't hurt them. Your goal today is to stop Magneto. Be careful. I know that you can do this. I have faith in every one of you."

As Xavier spoke, his eyes traveled slowly from person to person. Finally, his gaze came to rest on Gambit, who was standing at the end of the line. Xavier smiled.

"I see you changed your uniform."

Gambit smiled back at the Professor. He was wearing the same trench coat, armor, and bodysuit that he had always worn. But he now wore a gold belt with an X on the buckle around his waist and had sewn a patch with a black X on a red background onto the strip just above his forehead.

"Yeah, I t'ink it looks good, don't you, mon ami?"

Charles Xavier laughed, which broke the seriousness of the moment and prompted everyone else to do the same.

"I like it very much, Remy. Now then, it's time for you to go. Take care of yourselves."

"C'mon!" called Wolverine as he climbed aboard the Blackbird. "We're takin' off in 5 minutes."

The X-Men shared some last minute chitchat before heading towards the Blackbird one by one.

Remy strolled over to Rogue and looked into her eyes.

"Hey cherie. Ya don' look too happy. Don't ya like my new uniform?"

"It ain't new," said Rogue dryly. "Ya been wearing all that stuff fer years now. Ya just added a belt and a small patch."

Remy laughed. "Hey! I happen ta like it! How 'bout a kiss for good luck 'fore I go?"

Rogue stared at him in shock. "There's a great idea! Go into battle with Magneto with yer powers drained," she said sarcastically.

"It's a good hour ta Chicago. I'll be fine by de time we get dere."

"Hey Cajun!" called Wolverine from the door of the Blackbird. "We don't got all day so why don't ya get it in gear and get on the jet!"

"Ya ain't goin' nowhere 'less ya get on that plane, sugah," said Rogue.

Remy looked back at Wolverine and nodded.

"Yer right."

He leaned down and kissed her quickly before she could protest.

"See ya when I get home, cherie."

He took off and jogged up the ramp into the Blackbird. Rogue watched him leave in shock. She was suddenly filled with adrenaline and excitement. She felt ready to take on the world! She quickly realized that this was just how Gambit felt at the time. Slowly, another emotion rose up inside of her, one that was a little harder to pinpoint. She watched as the Blackbird's engines fired up and the jet screamed out of the hangar and through the waterfall at the end of the runway.

"Well Rogue, let's get to work. We need to train you to use your new powers."

Rogue never took her eyes off the hole at the end of the runway that the Blackbird had just flown through.

"Yeah, let's get to work, Professor."

*****

The white and blue jet landed in Chicago's O'Hare Airport. A ladder was rolled up to the door and the media gathered around. Finally, the door opened and Senator Robert Kelly stepped off the jet and waved to the crowd as he walked down the steps. He smiled for the cameras that were flashing all around him. Ever since the Anti-Mutant Act had passed, he had been like a celebrity wherever he went and he was enjoying it! Deep down, he knew that he shouldn't be in Chicago today. There were only 5 weeks left to election day, but he knew that the popularity from the Anti-Mutant Act would be enough to reelect him.

Sen. Kelly was in Chicago today to give a speech for a friend whose reelection was not as definite as his. This friend, though, knew that having the country's most popular senator introduce him could give his sagging poll results a boost, so Kelly had come to Chicago as a favor. He didn't mind. After all, this friend had voted for the Anti-Mutant Act and Kelly tried to be kind to his friends in Congress. He would need their help for his next idea.

*****

"We're approaching Chicago," said Beast, who was seated in the co-pilot's chair. Logan was seated next to him at the controls.

The X-Men were assembled behind them. During the flight, they had tried to organize a plan, but the fact was they had no idea what Magneto's plans were and so they had no idea what they should plan for.

Logan lowered the Blackbird and landed it in a clearing in a park. The X-Men stood up and exited the jet. They stepped out onto what looked like a small baseball field.

"Well Cajun. Any ideas?" asked Wolverine.

"Hmm, Magneto had me scope out de Sears Tower, so ya might wanna send some people over dere. He also wanted me ta take a look at de Hancock Building, so check it out too."

"Which building is which?" asked Kurt in confusion.

"De ugly one wid de construction crew working on de side is de Sears Tower," said Gambit with a smile. "De Hancock is de one dat has de X's on de sides."

"That doesn't help," said Kurt.

"That one is Sears," said Jean quickly as she pointed at the towering black building to their left. She turned and pointed straight ahead of them. "And the one that tapers up to the top is the Hancock."

"Now that's helpful!" said Kurt.

"So yer only suggestions are to check out the two most famous buildings in the city?" asked Logan incredulously. "Lot of help you are."

"Hey, I told ya dat he don't tell his men de plan 'til he wants em to know, mon ami. An' he didn' want us ta know."

"Arguing is doing no good," said Storm. "Let's split up and see what we can find. Keep your comms handy."

"Comms?" asked Gambit.

"Our communication devices," explained Beast. "We didn't have an extra to give to you. Sorry."

"No worries, mon ami."

"Alright, let's do this!" said Cyclops.

With that, the team split up and began running towards the looming Chicago skyline.

*****

"Yo Fred! Was that the X-Men's jet that just flew over?"

Toad and Blob were sitting on a fountain located on the border of the park and the city. They were looking out over the lakefront when they saw the black figure fly over them and lower into the trees to their right.

"Yeah, I think so. Should we go get em?"

"You kidding?! Just the two of us versus all of them?! No way!"

"Well shouldn't we at least tell Magneto they're here?"

"Yeah, we should, yo."

Toad began to hop off, but soon stopped and looked back puzzled.

"Where is Magneto?"

"I thought you knew," said Fred.

"Nah, I thought you knew where he was! Oh well. He'll figure it out eventually."

Toad hopped back and sat down on the fountain again.

Suddenly, Shadowcat appeared through the trees and saw the two Brotherhood members.

"You two?! Where's everyone else?"

"We don't know," said Blob.

"Hey look! It's Lance's girl! Where your friends at?"

"There's nothing between me and Lance! And the rest of the X-Men are taking down the rest of your goons. Where's Magneto?" yelled Shadowcat.

"Don't really know," said Toad. "Oh yeah! Now I remember! He's…"

Toad shot his tongue out of his mouth and grabbed Kitty's ankle. She screamed and fell to the ground. Toad tried to throw her into the fountain, but she phased through the long muscle and stood up quickly.

"Hey! No fair, yo!"

"Eww, that's so gross!" yelled Kitty as she wiped the slime off her uniform. "Well if that's how you two want it, then that's how its gonna be!"

She charged at the two boys. Toad screamed as she dove at him, then jumped out of the way at the last second.

"She's crazy!" screamed Toad from his new perch on top of a streetlight. "Whatever happened to trash talkin' the whole time and never actually fightin?"

"Tell me where Magneto is and we don't have to fight!" yelled Shadowcat.

Suddenly though, Blob came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her body. She screamed as he lifted her into the air.

"Let me go, you thug!" yelled Kitty as she phased through his arms.

Blob tried to crush her with his fists when she hit the ground, but she phased through the sidewalk and disappeared.

"Hey! Where'd she go?" asked Toad as he dropped back to the ground.

Kitty's arms reached around Toad and pulled him backwards into the fountain.

"Whoa! What the…?! Aw, man!" cried Toad as he fell into the water.

"Don't complain! You needed a bath anyway!" said Kitty.

"Hey! I just had a bath last week!"

Blob grunted as he picked Kitty up and threw her into the fountain quickly.

"Hey! Do you have any idea how long it takes this uniform to dry?!" yelled Kitty as she stood up from the small pool.

She looked over at Toad just in time to see him spit slime at her. She let it phase through her and stepped out of the fountain.

She groaned as she got ready for the next round.

"Why did _I _have to get stuck with these two?"

*****

Nightcrawler ran out of the park and found himself alone in the city.

"Great! Let the boy from Germany find hiz own vay around the big city. Perfect!" he mumbled under his breath. He took a deep breath. "Vell, here ve go!"

He ported to the top of the building standing next to him and looked around. The city was really very beautiful. It struck him that what he was seeing was a new beauty than he'd ever seen before. There were really 3 different types of beauty. The first was the beauty that a person has. The second was natural beauty from God's creations like the mountains and rivers he'd loved so much back in Germany. But this was a beauty that man creates. These buildings stood like graceful, sleeping giants. From his height, Kurt couldn't hear the jumble of noises from the streets below. He could only hear the wind whipping through the alleys and see the metal and concrete that formed beautiful architecture before his eyes. He stood for a moment and took in the sights before him.

"Vell, I suppose I should be looking for anything veird," he said as he forced himself to move on from the skyline.

His eyes traveled up and down the streets below him. He walked around the edge of the building and looked straight down at the sidewalks. There were people going back and forth everywhere, but he didn't recognize any of them as a Brotherhood member or an Acolyte.

Suddenly, a quick dash of light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to look towards it, but the light was gone. Leaves were blowing around in a small circle where the flash had been. Another flash of light appeared directly below him. There was definitely something going on down there.

"Pietro."

Kurt stood on the edge of the building and watched for Pietro to run by again. The same flash of light appeared to his left and Kurt jumped from the 50-story building. People began screaming below him as he fell through the air. A puff of smoke suddenly appeared around him, which left everyone looking up in confusion. Kurt stepped behind some bushes behind the crowd. They would think that he had died somehow in midair and blown up. It had served as a perfect distraction so no one would notice his appearance in the middle of the road. Kurt smiled and looked around for Pietro. He didn't have to look long as the speed-demon suddenly came to a halt right beside him.

"Nice show, blue-boy! You just put everyone in more of a panic than I ever could!"

Kurt ignored the comment. "Vas are you guys doing in Chicago? Where's Magneto?!"

"Causing-a-panic-and-I-don't-know!" said Quicksilver in a rush.

"Vell then I think I'll help you remember!" yelled Nightcrawler as he dove at Pietro. 

Quicksilver stepped to the side and smirked.

"C'mon! You call that fast?!"

Kurt ported behind Pietro in an attempt to catch him off guard, but Pietro saw it coming and quickly moved out of his reach.

"If that's the best you can do, then I'm outta here! So long!"

With that, Quicksilver sped off as Kurt watched leaves and pieces of paper swirl around in his tracks.

"I see how it is," mumbled Kurt with a bruised ego. He clenched his teeth and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

*****

Storm was flying through the towers as she looked for any sign of trouble. She weaved through the buildings easily, but was careful not to be too visible as she didn't want to start trouble with the regular people on the ground. After flying around for a few minutes, she decided to see if she could find anything on ground level. So she landed in a small alley and ventured out onto the streets. She found herself walking down Michigan Avenue in a huge crowd of people.

Suddenly, she heard screams and the roaring of flames behind her. Storm turned around and found herself only one block from Pyro, who had his back to her and was busy scaring people with a car he had formed out of fire.

Storm leapt into the air and flew straight at the madman. She dropped her shoulder and flew into Pyro's back, knocking him to the ground and causing the car to disappear. Pyro jumped up quickly and turned around.

"You?! What are you doing here?"

"We heard that you would be here, so we dropped in to say hi. Where's Magneto?"

"Can't tell ya, mate. Now if ya don't mind, I got business to attend to."

Pyro stretched his arms toward Storm and fired two jets of flame from either hand. He felt the wind pick up around him as Storm rose into the air to avoid being burned. The tree that stood behind Storm, though, was caught by the flames and burst into an orange glow. Storm pointed her arms towards the tree and rain began falling from a cloud that assembled right above it.

"Hey! That's not fair!" called Pyro as he began firing at Storm again.

Storm flew between the two flaming columns coming from Pyro as her pupils began to fade away. Pyro's maniacal laughter subsided when he noticed the sky darkening above him. Huge clouds were rolling over Lake Michigan and settling on downtown Chicago. They let loose a torrential downpour that soaked everything within a three-block radius of the two elemental mutants.

"I believe you will find it much harder to set everything on fire now," said Storm as she landed again about 10 feet from Pyro.

"No fair! You cheated!"

"I did what I had to do. Fire doesn't mix well with this city and I'm not going to let you burn it down."

Pyro grunted his annoyance and began sending flames over the buildings and trees around him. To his horror, they weren't catching fire! Storm just smiled as she kept a mist hanging in the air to ensure everything stayed as wet as possible. She walked towards the now angry Australian and sent a huge wind to knock him off his feet. Lightning flashed from her eyes as she stood over Pyro.

"Where is Magneto?"

"I don't know, okay! Back off!"

Storm sighed, but never took her gaze from the frightened Pyro. She wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but she had a hunch that he was telling the truth.

*****

Wolverine stormed down the streets of Chicago as he sniffed the air for a familiar scent. Finally, he found it. He turned to his left and ran down the street. People dove out of his way as he extended his claws and charged his target. He rounded a corner and finally saw the man he was looking for.

"Sabertooth!"

Wolverine growled loudly as he ran towards his enemy and lunged at him. Sabertooth turned around quickly and grabbed Wolverine as he fell on top of him. The two mutants rolled around on the ground for a little while until Wolverine landed a knee in his groin and put the beast of a man out of commission for a while. Wolverine stood up and took a deep breath.

"That…wasn't fair," said Sabertooth in a breathy voice.

"Too bad. Much as I would love ta kill ya right now, we got bigger problems today. What's Magneto got up his sleeve?"

Sabertooth stood back up. He was beginning to regain his breath and his strength.

"I don't know."

"Yer lyin'!"

"No. He refused to tell the plan to anyone."

Wolverine let this sink in quickly. Magneto must have something major in mind if he hadn't even told his followers!

"Where is he?"

"Don't know that, either. He told us nothing."

Wolverine grunted. This wasn't gonna be good if Magneto had been this secretive. He sniffed the air once. Maybe he'd get lucky and catch a whiff of ol' Mags. To his shock, he managed to pick up Magneto's scent nearby!

Sabertooth saw the surprise in Wolverine's face and he smelled the air as well. He picked up the same scent as his enemy.

"If you want to get to him, you have to go through me!"

Wolverine looked at Sabertooth with a fierce glare.

"Fine then, bub. Let's go!"

*****

Pietro sped down the walkway next to the river and stopped at the entrance to Navy Pier.

"I think I lost him that time," he panted.

"Nope. Still here!" came Kurt's voice from behind him.

Pietro turned around in horror.

"What the…?! You've chased me literally around this whole city! We've been all the way from Wrigley Field to the lake! How can you keep up with me?!"

"Jah, thanks for the tour! It helped me learn my way around much better! Now, you never answered my question. Where is Magneto?"

Pietro panted as Kurt smiled at him. "I told you. I don't know!"

Pietro did his best to look tired, but he was beginning to feel a second wind coming on.

"So where are all your friends? I haven't seen anyone but you." He was stalling until he was ready to run again.

"They're around. Probably beating the information out of _your_ friends!"

"I doubt it. So where's Daniels at? I haven't seen him in forever!"

Pietro noticed Kurt's smile fade quickly.

"Zo you haven't heard then?" asked Kurt.

"No. What's wrong?"

"Evan was killed by a Zentinel a veek ago."

"What?!" Pietro reeled back and tripped over a bench. "He's dead?! He can't be dead! Are you sure?!"

Kurt nodded. "I zaw him die vith my own eyes."

"No-way! That's-impossible! He-can't-be-dead! Who-am-I-s'posed-to-fight-with-now?! I-swear,-blue-boy,-if-this-is-some-kind-of-joke…"

"It's no joke," interrupted Kurt. "He's gone."

Pietro just sat on the ground and stared into space. Kurt watched him with interest. He had always known that Evan and Pietro had once been friends and their rivalry had been obvious to everyone, but he never would have dreamed that Pietro would have such a reaction to Evan's death!

"Pietro? Are you okay?"

Quicksilver looked up at Kurt like he just realized he was there.

"Yeah. Course I am."

"Look, he vas my friend too, but you've got to just move on and forget about it. Now where is Magneto?"

Pietro stood up slowly. He looked around like he didn't know where he was, then disappeared in a streak of light again. Kurt groaned. 

"I better make zure he doesn't do anything crazy," he said before porting after him.

*****

Jean was walking down the sidewalks cautiously. She knew the others must have gotten into some fights because every now and then she would see someone running down the street screaming. But she was yet to happen across an enemy herself or walk into an existing fight. She whirled around when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Well, well. Look who we have here."

"Wanda! You scared me. Where's your father?"

Wanda smirked. "Don't know. He wouldn't tell me. Why?"

"We know he's got some crazy plan. You have to know that whatever it is he plans on doing, he's going to hurt someone! Wanda, you're not like him or the rest of the Brotherhood. Help us."

"Betray my dad? Yeah, right." Wanda took a step back and put her hands in the air like she wanted to fight. "Its not gonna happen that way."

"Look Wanda, I really don't want to fight you. Just tell me where Magneto is."

"Told you. Don't know."

"Please Wanda. Don't make me do this," pleaded Jean as she raised her own arms in case she had to attack.

Wanda charged at Jean as fast as she could, but Jean thrust her hands forth and flung the witch against the brick wall of the Wrigley Building.

The female Maximoff fell to her knees on the sidewalk, then stood up slowly with a huff.

"You'll regret that."

"I doubt it."

Jean thrust her hands forward again, but this time Wanda was ready. She raised her hands as well and Jean flew backwards across the street, causing cars to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting her body. Jean stood up and frowned at the Scarlet Witch. She began to levitate herself into the air and move back across the street. To her horror, though, the cars began to rise into the air as well when Jean reached the middle of the road. Drivers and passengers screamed as they opened their doors and fell out of their cars. Jean realized what has happening just in time to put her hands up and stop them from flying into her. However, just as Jean got control over the cars in front of her, a bar from a nearby street sign slammed across her spine. Wanda laughed as Jean fell from the air and hit the ground with a thud.

"I told you you'd regret it!"

Jean picked herself up slowly. Her back was throbbing with pain after taking the hit from a metal pole. She used her power to throw the pole back at Wanda, but Wanda used Jean's telekinesis to throw it back across the street.

"Let's see just how powerful you are," said Wanda with a smirk.

Everything that wasn't imbedded in the ground began to rise from the street and swirl in circles over their heads. Jean looked up in horror and tried to pull some of the bigger items like cars out of the air. Unfortunately, she couldn't concentrate due to the pain in her back. She lowered her head and cringed in pain as she lay on her hands and knees in the middle of the street.

Suddenly, Jean heard a familiar growl and heard Wanda scream in surprise. She heard the crashes of cars and other objects falling back to the ground. Jean managed to look up, where she saw Beast wrestling with the Scarlet Witch on the sidewalk. She watched for a moment until she managed to gather her strength and stand up. She looked around quickly and found the same metal pole that Wanda had used earlier. She picked it up with her mind and sent it flying towards the two mutants. Beast saw it coming and jumped out of the way. Scarlet Witch was not so lucky. One end of the pole slammed into her stomach. The other end then swung up and slapped against her head, rendering her unconscious on the sidewalk.

Beast turned around to face Jean with an approving smile.

"Nicely done."

Jean smiled weakly and collapsed on the street again. Beast rushed over to her and picked her up.

"Jean?! What's wrong? Jean, can you hear me?"

Jean's eyes were closed and her body was limp in the giant blue arms of Hank McCoy. He picked her up and carried her unconscious body back to the Blackbird.

*****

It seemed like forever since Cyclops had left the Blackbird and found himself alone in the middle of the city. He knew that the fighting must have started, as he could here faint screams every now and then. Not to mention the screams from people who saw him in his uniform and visor running down the streets. Finally, he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Summers! What are you doing here?"

Cyclops turned around to face Avalanche, who was across the street from him.

"You know why I'm here, Alvers!" he shouted back. "The question is why are you here?"

"Because I have nowhere else to go!" shouted Lance as cars passed between them. "I was asked to come here and I came."

"Fine! Then where's Magneto?" called Scott.

"Sorry Red-eye, can't hear you!" yelled Avalanche.

He stomped his foot on the sidewalk, causing the pavement to buckle and rise up in front of traffic forming a trail that led all the way to Cyclops.

"That's better," said Avalanche as he walked down his passageway and stopped next to Cylcops. "Now what were you saying, Summers?"

"You heard me Alvers. Where's Magneto?"

"Somehow I knew you would ask me that. I don't know."

"You don't know or you won't say?"

"I don't know!" said Lance defensively.

"I don't believe that."

"Fine. Your choice, but it's the truth."

"Why do you always have to be so hard to deal with, Alvers?"

"Because frankly, I don't like you and you're not exactly easy to get along with either. Now, I don't know where Magneto is, but I know what my orders are."

"And what are they?"

"To fight you. Pretty simple really. I was told that if I found anyone who wanted to cause trouble, my job was to fight them."

"So you're nothing but a distraction."

"But what a fun distraction it is!"

The ground began to shake around the two boys' feet. Cyclops looked at Avalanche and saw his eyes had rolled into his head. Scott jumped away just as pieces of concrete began falling from the buildings above them. He reached to his temple and fired a quick shot at Avalanche, knocking him off his feet.

Lance stood back up and glared at Cyclops with hatred. Scott kneeled down and fired another blast at the Brotherhood leader. However, just as he did so, Lance stomped his foot and a wave of sidewalk rushed toward Cyclops. The red beam fired into the air as Scott was knocked onto his back.

He jumped up and charged Avalanche. Lance was ready and ducked the first punch. The second one landed directly in his stomach and knocked the breath out of him.

Lance fell to the ground on his hands and knees and gasped for air. He looked up at Cyclops, who was standing directly above him. Lance raised one hand into the air, then punched the ground with all his might, sending a shock wave out from his body that shook the whole city. Scott was knocked off his feet and fell next to Avalanche.

Lance took the opportunity to punch Scott in the face and give a kick to his ribs. Scott countered by landing a few punches of his own.

Soon, the two boys were back on their feet and putting every amount of energy they could muster into the fight.

*****

Gambit was standing at the base of the Sears Tower and looking straight up the wall and into the sky. He had come straight here when the X-Men split up. Gambit knew he would be here if he was only patient enough.

Finally, Colossus appeared from around a corner.

"I been waitin' on ya."

"Gambit?! What are you doing here?"

"Long story, mon ami. But it ends wid me bein wid de X-Men."

"So the X-Men are here?"

"Yep."

"Good. Maybe they can stop Magnus."

"Not if dey don't know de plan. Which, o'course, only Magneto himself knows de plan."

"He's insane, Remy. Ever since the attack he's been getting crazier and crazier."

"He never had much sanity ta start wit."

"True."

"I don't s'pose ya know where he is?"

"You know I don't. If I did, I'd gladly tell you."

Remy looked at his good friend with pity.

"Join us, Piotr. You an' me always talked 'bout leaving Magnus an' joinin' the X-Men. Dey're good people. Dey'd like ya."

Colossus sighed. "You know I can't, Remy. I'd love to, but I have to think about my family."

"We'll help your family! Just join us."

"I'm sorry, Remy. Maybe another time I'll be able to. But right now, I can't risk losing them."

"I understand," said Remy as he patted his friend's shoulder. "An' I understand dat now ya gotta do what ya gotta do."

Colossus sighed again. "No. Magneto will never know that I did nothing to stop you. I refuse to fight you, Remy."

"You're a good friend, Piotr. I wish ya could come wid me."

"Me too."

*****

The streets of Chicago were now pretty much deserted except by mutants embroiled in duels around the city. Wolverine was thankful that the people had been smart enough to get away from them. He charged at Sabertooth again and sunk his claws into the huge man's shoulder. Sabertooth roared as he threw Wolverine through a metal wall beside them. 

Wolverine jumped up and shook his head. He could still smell Magneto. In fact, he had been trying to keep the fight moving in a direction that was always closer to Magneto. He took another sniff of the air, then jerked his head to look down the hallway beside him. Magneto was down that hallway!

He ran as hard as he could down the corridor. He heard Sabertooth jump through the wall and chase after him. He could hear screams coming from ahead of him. Magneto was attacking!

Wolverine rounded a corner and found himself inside a huge convention center draped with long red, white, and blue decorations. Magneto was hovering over the stage at the opposite side of the room. People were running everywhere inside the convention center and hiding underneath whatever they could find. Suddenly, Magneto turned his head toward Wolverine and called out across the room.

"Wolverine! Good to see you could make it to my little party!"

Wolverine felt himself rise into the air. He tried to fight Magneto's powers, but was drawn up to the stage where Magneto was standing over a cowering silver-haired man. Wolverine glanced down at the man below him and realized it was Senator Robert Kelly! Finally, everything clicked in Wolverine's mind and he realized what was happening.

"This is a huge mistake, Magneto! It'll only make things worse!" yelled Wolverine through clenched teeth as Magneto stretched his body to the limit.

"No, things will get better in time," said Magneto slowly. "This is but phase one."

"Killing Senators don't help yer cause! It will only make 'em hate us more!"

Magneto drew Wolverine closer to him so that they were looking eye to eye.

"I don't care if they hate me or love me. Hate is not the problem. The problem is fear, or rather, lack of it. They can hate us, Wolverine, but as long as they fear us, we have the upper hand!"

"You're insane," grimaced Wolverine. Pain was beginning to course through his body as his appendages tried to pull away from his torso.

"Oh no, Wolverine. I am quite sane."

Magneto pushed his hands forward and Wolverine floated to the middle of the room. He watched as a blue electromagnetic field appeared around Magneto's body. The doors slammed shut all around the room and Wolverine closed his eyes as the people in the room screamed in fear.

Finally, Magneto raised his hands into the air and the room started to shake. Cracks began appearing around the walls, floor, and ceiling. Chunks of metal and concrete fell from the ceiling and crushed the people below. One particularly large chunk fell from directly above Magneto. It landed on the blue field surrounding the master of magnetism and crumbled without ever hitting him. The groans from the building got louder as it truly began to cave in until finally, the ceiling collapsed on the whole room and crushed everyone in it except for Magneto, who stood above the rubble with a smile on his face. He raised his arm once again and lifted Wolverine out of the devastation.

"You see, Wolverine? Fear is the ultimate weapon. So long as they fear us, they cannot harm us."

"Thought you believed they couldn't stop us anyway," said Wolverine.

Magneto frowned. "They can't, but they can try. That is what Mr. Kelly's law was all about, stopping the mutants. He failed to understand that stopping us was impossible. But his little law did set back mutant supremacy, and for that he had to be punished. I think this should do the trick, don't you?" said Magneto with a menacing smile.

"This'll only make people want to hurt us even more. You're so blind that you can't see what you've done!

"Go and tell Charles about this. And tell him that I look forward to seeing him again someday soon."

Wolverine suddenly fell from the sky and landed hard on the rocks below. Magneto rose into the air and flew away. Wolverine stood up and rubbed his shoulder as he watched the mutant disappear into the sky. He grabbed his comm and began to talk into it.

"This battle's over, everyone. Head for the Blackbird. We're goin' home."

e He


	14. Newsbreak

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A/N: Wow. It seems you all really liked the last chapter! Thanks for all the reviews. This chapter is one that I wanted to write as soon as I first thought of this plot. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If not, I'm sorry.

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Good evening and welcome to National News Tonight. I'm your host, Greg Packert. Tonight, we will take an in-depth look at the Mutant Crisis facing our country.

Science has long told us about evolution. Though many have debated its existence over the years, evolution has revealed itself recently by creating mutants. But there are disagreements over just what a mutant is. Some believe that they are the next step in human evolution. Others believe they are a result of decades of nuclear testing around the world. Still others believe that they are a plague sent from God to destroy humanity as a lesson for its sins.

The government claims that mutants have the potential to become deadly weapons and therefore must be detained at all costs. This view has received a mixed reaction around the country. Though many Americans see mutants as a threat, there are still many others that view them as friends. Tonight, we will ask the question, "are mutants a trusted friend, or a bitter enemy?"

We start by looking back to the beginning of the Mutant Crisis. The theory of the existence of mutants first appeared in scientific circles nearly 50 years ago when scientists began seeing people with strange abilities. It was considered a fluke of nature at the time and most of the general public never heard about it. As time moved on, however, mutants became more and more common. It was learned that they received their adaptations from an extra chromosome in their genetic makeup. This does not mean, though, that a mutant can only be born to mutant parents. Many cases have been reported where mutant children were born to normal couples.

Just over a year ago, an incidence in New York brought mutants to the forefront of America's consciousness. In a shocking display of power, a group of mutants devastated downtown Bayville, New York in a fight with a huge robot. This occurrence forced America to take notice of mutants. It also started the notion that mutants are dangerous.

This idea came to a head last week when Senator Robert Kelly from New York proposed the Anti-Mutant Act. The act passed almost unanimously and the army began to track down and arrest mutants across the country. The detained mutants were taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they were placed in a detention camp. Reports suggest that five days ago, there was a large escape from this camp that set many mutants free again. The government is still yet to comment on the matter.

Yesterday, a new event in human-mutant relations occurred. In downtown Chicago, people began reporting that fights were breaking out all over town between mutants. Sen. Kelly was in Chicago at the time to give a speech in support of Sen. Elliot Graham from Illinois. During his presentation, Kelly and everyone else in attendance at the convention were killed when the ceiling collapsed on them. It is believed that this was orchestrated by mutants as retaliation for Sen. Kelly's proposal of the Anti-Mutant Act.

Sen. Kelly's passing leaves an open hole in the role of leader against mutantkind. However, Senator Kelly's brother, Mayor Edward Kelly of Bayville, New York, has offered to run in place of his brother for the Senate seat and fill the vacant spot as anti-mutant leader left by the late Senator. Mayor Kelly has a long-standing record for working against the spread of mutants and is expected to win the election in a landslide victory.

The most recognized voice for the side of mutantkind is a man known as Charles Xavier. Xavier is a mutant himself and is well respected among most intellectual groups around the nation. According to Xavier, humanity and mutants can live together in peace if given the chance. He promotes equality between humans and mutants and suggests that together, the two sides could forever better the world.

But this idealistic view is not shared by all. Ever since the passing of the Anti-Mutant Act, protesters have been posted at the Capitol Building as well as the White House. The first protesters to arrive were humans who shared Charles Xavier's dreams and supported mutant equality. Soon, more protesters arrived who supported the Anti-Mutant Act. Troops have been stationed between the two protest camps to prevent any violence from erupting.

But violence has erupted in California, where a group of mutants went on a riot through the streets of Los Angeles three days ago. They burned down stores and destroyed both public and private party. Four were killed in the riot, 3 humans and 1 mutant.

Incidences like this and the one in Chicago have left many wondering if it's safe to have mutants on our streets. After all, the only time the public hears about them is when they are involved in an attack on humans. But many mutants have performed good deeds as well. Charles Xavier is a great philanthropist who graciously gives money to all sorts of charities. Also, months ago in New York City, people reported being rescued by an angel when they were attacked by muggers on the streets. It is now believed that this "angel" was in fact a mutant man with great wings on his back. So while mutants have been the cause of much destruction, they have also been a blessing to many Americans.

Dr. Joshua Kayhall of Harvard University believes that mutants are simply the next step in human evolution. In his latest book, Dr. Kayhall suggests that one day everyone will be born with a mutant adaptation. But many disagree with this view. Dr. Thomas Cowan from Yale University believes that mutants are merely the result of radiation left in the atmosphere after the detonations of nuclear bombs around the world. He believes that mutants will fade away over the next 100 years and that one day, people will debate whether they ever existed at all.

But today, in America in the 21st century, we know that mutants do exist. It is no longer a deniable claim. The question that remains is what should be done about them. Should the government step in and pass legislation such as the Anti-Mutant Act, or should we sit back and let nature have its way? This is a delicate situation for Americans to consider. The ultimate decision could very well alter the course of human existence.

As our nation enters this time of decisions and deliberations, we hope that we have helped to shed more light on the issue of mutants and what their existence will mean for the world. For National News Tonight, I'm Greg Packert. Goodnight.


	15. Love to the Third Degree

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A/N: Okay all you Scott/Jean/Logan lovers, this chapter is for you! Romy lovers, it's coming. I promise! Just be patient. I swear that the next two chapters will be full of Romy. But for now, it's love triangle time! Enjoy.

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The bright light filtered through her half-open eyelids and she squinted as she tried to make everything come into focus. It took a moment for her to get her bearings, but Jean soon realized that she was lying on her stomach on a bed. She tried to roll over, but a burning pain shot through her back and stopped her.

"Whoa! Jean, stay still," said the voice of the Beast from above her.

"Hank? Where am I?"

"Stay still Jean," he said as Jean felt a large hand rest on her shoulder. "You're going to be all right. You just took a pretty hard hit during the fight. We're back at the mansion now."

Jean lay still for a moment and let the pain subside.

"What happened to me?"

"Scarlet Witch hit you across the back with a metal pole and cracked one of your vertebrae. You passed out from the pain and I took you back to the Blackbird. You're going to be okay, but it's going to be pretty painful for the next month or two."

"Where's the Professor?" asked Jean. She trusted Beast, but she wanted to hear her mentor say she'd be fine.

She heard the door open across the room and could immediately feel the Professor's presence.

"I'm right here, Jean. You'll be fine, but you gave us quite a scare."

Jean breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Thanks, Professor."

"How are you feeling?"

"To be honest, it hurts and this isn't really the most comfortable position to lay in," said Jean who was well aware of how whiny she sounded.

"We can give you some painkillers to ease the pain. As for letting you roll over, you'll have to ask Hank about that."

"Well, I suppose it'd be okay if you sat up," said Beast. "I don't want you laying on your back though."

"Okay," said Jean.

She started to roll over but the pain was too much for her. 

"Ow! Oh, that hurts," Jean muttered to herself.

It was clear to Jean that she couldn't roll over like that. She closed her eyes and her body began to rise into the air. She rotated in midair and landed softly back on the bed, sitting up and looking around the room.

"That's one way to do it," said Beast as picked up some painkillers from the cabinet.

"Jean, there are some people who want to see you if you're up to it," said the Professor.

"Sure. Let 'em in," said Jean as she pulled the blanket up to her waist.

The Professor rolled over to the door and opened it. No sooner had he done so than Scott and Logan entered the room and walked over to Jean's side.

"Scott! Logan!" said Jean with delight. She was glad to see both of them.

"Hey Red. Looks like you took quite a hit," said Logan as he put a hand on Jean's shoulder.

"Hey Jean. I was really worried about you," said Scott as he walked around her bed to stand on the other side of her.

Jean smiled at them both, then answered Logan. "Yeah, I guess I did. How'd we do? Did we stop Magneto?"

Logan and Scott both clenched their teeth inside their mouths. Of all the X-men, they were taking the loss the worst.

Scott answered first. "No. Magneto won."

"What?!" interrupted Jean. "What happened?"

"He killed a bunch o' people, includin' Senator Kelly," said Logan

Jean looked up at the gruff mutant in shock. 

"The same Senator Kelly that proposed the Anti-Mutant Act? Magneto killed him?"

"Yep. Crushed him with a ceiling. It wasn't pretty."

Jean just stared at the wall in front of her as this sunk in. Of course, she didn't really care if Sen. Kelly was alive or not. In fact, she preferred him dead! But she knew that the fact that he was killed by Magneto could only mean bad things for mutants.

"So how are you feeling, Jean?" asked Scott.

Jean shook her head and looked up into his sunglasses.

"I'm fine. It hurts, but I'll be okay."

"Good. I couldn't believe it when I saw you passed out in the Blackbird."

Scott looked around the room quickly, then back at Jean.

"I'm glad you're doing okay, Jean. Now, I'm really sorry but I have to go find Kurt and talk to him for a little while. Apparently he broke the news about Evan to Pietro and he didn't take it well. The Professor wants me to talk to Kurt and find out exactly what happened. I really wish I could stay here, but…"

"Go find Kurt. I'll be here when you get back," interrupted Jean.

Scott leaned down and kissed her quickly. 

"I'll be right back."

With that, he nodded to Logan and left the room. Jean and Logan watched him walk down the hall through the windows, then looked at each other when he was gone.

"So," started Logan, "you, uh, you're feelin' okay?"

"I'm fine," said Jean with a smile.

Logan pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.

"Listen, Jean, there's somethin' I been meanin' ta talk to ya about."

Jean started to lean forward, but was stopped by a rush of pain and leaned back onto the bed.

"What is it, Logan?"

"I don' know how to say this, and fer all I know, you may hate me after I say it, but I gotta say it anyway."

"Logan, I won't hate you no matter what you say."

Jean noticed a smile cross Logan's lips. His smiles were rare, but they always made her smile back.

"Jean, I…I'm in love with you."

Jean sat in silence for a moment as it hit her what Logan had just said. She was just thankful she hadn't been standing at the time! He was in love with her? Her first thought was that she and Logan just weren't a good match. But as she sat there and thought about it, she began to see a relationship with Logan coming pretty easily! Her thoughts turned to Scott. They had been dating for over a year and it was pretty serious. It wasn't sexually serious or marriage serious, but for two people their age it was progressing pretty fast.

"Jean? I'm sorry. Forget I said that."

Jean looked at Logan. For the first time in her life, she really _looked _at him. He was very handsome. In fact, he was actually kinda…cute! Jean wasn't used to these thoughts. She began to worry about what was going through her head. Was it just the painkillers talking or was she actually attracted to Logan? She looked at him again and discovered that she was actually attracted to Logan! She couldn't believe it!

Logan stood up from his chair and began to walk away silently. 

"Wait! Logan…"

He turned back around quickly.

"I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting that."

Jean searched for words. At the same time, she realized that she was searching her heart for a place for Logan there. 

"Look Red, I get it. Yer in love with ol' One-eye. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"Logan, I don't know who I love!" Jean blurted out quickly.

Jean was just as shocked by her statement as Logan was. How could she be in love with Logan? She looked up into his eyes, though, and somehow everything felt right. She had longed for too long to be able to look into the eyes of the man she loved. As she stared into Logan's deep blue eyes, she felt herself get lost in them. At that moment she realized something that would change her life forever. As much as she loved Scott, she was just as in love with Logan!

"What?" said Logan after a long, awkward silence.

"Logan, I love Scott. Don't get me wrong. But I love you just as much! I just…never realized it until now."

Jean watched Logan sit back down in his chair and take a deep breath. 

"So what now then?"

"I don't know," confessed Jean. "Give me time. I need to think about this."

Logan stood up again. Jean could see the shock registering on his face. She knew her face probably looked just as confused.

"Take all the time ya need. I'll be waitin'."

Logan reached down and put his hand over Jean's and held it there for a moment. Jean smiled at him and enjoyed the moment. When she felt his hand begin to pull away from her, she panicked. She wasn't ready for him to leave! She acted on an impulse and used her powers to force Logan to bend down towards her from his waist. When he was close enough, Jean leaned up despite the pain and kissed him. They stayed like that for a long minute, neither wanting to end the kiss. Finally, Jean dropped her head back to the pillow that supported her neck. Logan stood up and smiled at her.

"See ya later, Red."

"Bye, Logan," said Jean slowly.

*****

"What?!" cried Scott in confusion. "He said he loved you?! That's ridiculous!"

"Scott, calm down," said Jean, who was still stuck in a bed in the infirmary. "There's more."

"More? There's more? Hold on a second. I'm still trying to imagine Wolverine in love with you."

Jean was taken aback. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked in a defensive tone. 

Scott was caught off guard by the change in Jean's voice and realized what he'd just said.

"Jean, I didn't mean it like that. I meant I just can't see you two together."

"Fine. I think you should sit down for the rest of this, though. You're not gonna be expecting the rest of the story."

Scott sat back in his chair beside Jean's bed.

"Okay. So what happened next?"

"Scott, you know I love you. But when he said that, it made me think about him in a whole new way. I'd never considered Logan to be someone I could fall in love with, but as I looked at him there, I realized that…"

"Jean, you're scaring me," said Scott as it dawned on him where this was going.

"I realized that I loved him! I can't explain it, Scott, but I love him. And it's not just a puppy love type of thing. I think I love him just as much as I love you!"

Scott sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Jean reached out and took his hand as she broke the quiet in the room.

"Scott? Are you okay?"

Scott raised his head a little and Jean could feel his eyes looking into hers.

"Is this a joke?"

"No joke," said Jean.

Scott sighed.

"This can't be happening," he said, more to himself than to Jean. 

"Scott, I wasn't expecting this either, but now it's something I have to deal with. I need some time alone. By the time I'm out of this bed, I'll have a decision ready. I'll let you know who I choose then."

Scott's face changed into one Jean had never seen on him before and he jumped out of his chair again.

"Whoa! You'll let me know who you choose?! So then there's a chance you're gonna leave me for Logan?!"

"Scott! Settle down! I don't know what I'm gonna do right now. I understand if you're mad at me. I guess I'd be mad at you too if the roles were switched. But please don't get too angry. I haven't made any decisions yet."

Scott sighed and stood with his head hung low beside Jean.

"Is that all that happened?"

Jean bit her lip, which she knew she could get away with while Scott was looking down.

"Yeah. That's all that happened."

*****

Jean lay in bed for the next few days and simply thought. She had never guessed she'd find herself in this predicament. She had promised Scott and Logan that she would give them her decision in two weeks. She was beginning to think she couldn't decide in that time! 

On one hand, Jean loved Scott. She had been dating him for a year and had fallen in love soon before they began dating. Jean had always assumed that Scott was the person she would love and there would never be another. Now, that assumption was out the window and she didn't know what to do. Scott was sweet. A look around her bed at all the flowers he had brought her was proof of that. And, Jean thought, he was also a great match for her. They both took up each other's slack in certain areas. Whereas Scott was a great leader when the X-Men were in combat, he wasn't so good dealing with problems around the mansion. Jean, though, was great at dealing with those problems and gave Scott tons of help and advice on those matters.

On the other hand was Logan. Ever since Jean first saw Logan in her parent's living room, she had never dreamed she could fall in love with him! But when he had talked to her just three days before, she had suddenly begun to look at Logan in a new light. He was just as sweet as Scott was, as evidenced by the single bouquet of flowers above Jean's bed. Though he hadn't brought her near the number of flowers Scott had, he had brought as many as his nature would allow. She would have worried about him if he'd brought more than a single bouquet. He was quiet and rough, but Jean was quickly realizing that she liked that. He was wild, but somehow that attracted Jean all the more!

She sighed and pulled her blanket up to her shoulders. She had no idea what to do.

*****

"Jean, I was wondering if I could talk to you," said the Professor as he rolled into the infirmary.

"Sure. Come on in," said Jean. She knew what he wanted to talk about.

The Professor rolled up next to her bed and stopped. He took a deep breath and looked at Jean with concern.

"There's a rumor going around the mansion about you that I just heard about today. The kids are saying that Logan said he loved you."

Jean smiled. The Professor was clearly uncomfortable.

"Yes, he did."

"And the rumor goes that you claimed to love him, too."

"That's right."

The Professor sighed.

"And you told Scott that you would think about the situation while you're down here and announce who it is you love when you're able to get out of bed?"

"I told that to Logan, too."

"Jean, do you really think this is right?"

"Do I think what's right?"

"What you're doing to both of them. If you love Logan, then it's your business, not mine. But to just string them along like this isn't right."

"Professor, I honestly don't know who I love more! I'm still trying to figure it out."

"I think that Scott at least deserves more than this. You have been dating him for over a year. Don't you think he deserves more than a sudden 'I might be leaving you in two weeks?'"

"Professor, when I make my decision, I promise to let you know first. But the fact is I haven't made it yet. I don't know who I want to be with and I'm not going to rush this decision. This is something that I need to deal with in my own time."

The Professor turned around and began to roll towards the door.

"Be smart, Jean. I don't want to see you get hurt by this."

Jean frowned at the Professor's final words. She could tell that there was more he had wanted to say.

*****

"Wow! Like, I can't believe you have a thing for Logan!" cried Kitty.

She and Rogue had come to visit Jean when they heard the news. Jean had explained to them the situation and now they were both trying to understand it.

"So…so yer in love with Logan?" asked Rogue for the fifth time. 

"Yeah, I am!" said Jean. She was getting tired of that question. "I can't really explain it but I love both of them."

Kitty was getting wrapped up in the whole thing and was obviously enjoying it immensely. 

"This is so romantic! And look at all these flowers! They're gorgeous! So who are you gonna pick?"

"I don't know," answered Jean.

Rogue was just staring at Jean while Kitty examined the flowers around her bed. Jean decided to change the subject.

"So how are Remy and Kurt doing? I haven't seen them since we were in Chicago."

"They haven't, like, come to visit you?" asked Kitty in surprise. "I'll tell them to come next time I see them."

"Why? She'll jest fall in love with them, too," drawled Rogue harshly.

Jean frowned at the sarcastic comment and tried to brush it off. 

"Thanks, Kitty. I'd really like to see them."

"Ah bet…" mumbled Rogue low enough that no one heard her.

Kitty sat back down, but was still obviously excited.

"This is just too romantic. I can't wait to see what happens!"

"Kitty! You do know that this isn't some kind of bedtime story or anything, right? This is actually my life."

"I know!" said Kitty with a dreamy look. "But it's just so cool! I totally wish I had two guys fighting over me."

"Fighting?" asked Jean.

Rogue smiled. 

"Yeah! Those two haven't spoken ta each other since the day they talked ta ya. Scott told Logan ta back off and now they jest frown at each other all the time."

Jean was shocked to hear this. She hadn't thought about how Scott and Logan would act around each other. 

Just then, Hank entered the room and told Rogue and Kitty to go meet everyone else for dinner.

"Great!" said Rogue with fake excitement as she smiled in Kitty's direction. "Ah can't wait for those delicious meatballs."

"What?!" cried Kitty in disbelief as they left the room. "Who cooked meatballs?! They better have something vegetarian for me!"

Hank shut the door and Jean could no longer hear the two girls arguing.

"And here's your dinner, Jean," said Hank as he handed her a plate of lasagna.

"No meatballs?" asked Jean with a smile. 

Hank smiled too.

"They're having lasagna, same as you and me. I cooked it myself. But Kitty is just too easy a target for Rogue not to have some fun with every now and then."

Jean laughed out loud as she picked up her fork and started eating the delicious Italian dish. Hank sat down next to her and began eating as well.

"You know you don't have to eat down here," said Jean.

"I don't mind. I wouldn't want you to have to eat alone. And since Charles has banned Scott and Logan from coming down here…"

"What?!" interrupted Jean. 

Hank stopped his fork in midair and realized what he'd just said.

"No, it's not what you think, Jean! It's only during meals. They can come visit whenever they want to, but the Professor wants everyone at the dinner table together."

Jean eyed him suspiciously. Somehow she didn't think she was getting the entire truth. As Hank went back to eating his lasagna, Jean decided to scan his mind quickly to find out the complete truth. Soon, she knew that Scott and Logan were each allowed to visit Jean once a day, though never at the same time, so that there wouldn't be any sort of competition to be with her. Likewise, they weren't allowed to stay with her more than 30 minutes.

Jean couldn't believe the Professor would do this to her! She was getting angrier by the second and Hank eventually figured out what she'd done.

"Jean, don't get mad about it. He's just trying to keep everything peaceful."

He paused as he considered that statement.

"Or at least keep it civil. There's nothing peaceful about how those two have been acting lately."

Jean looked up at Hank in surprise. 

"What do you mean?"

"They haven't talked to each other since the day you woke up, but you can feel the tension between them every time they're in the same room."

Jean considered this for a moment. Kitty and Rogue had mentioned something like that, but it didn't really hit her until now.

"I'm driving them apart," she said more to herself than to Beast.

Hank tried to think of a good response to this, but couldn't come up with one.

"In a way, yes."

Jean tried to finish her meal without thinking of the conflict she was causing in the mansion. She felt like a stake being driven through the core of the X-Men. After all, Scott and Logan were the main combat leaders of the group! She started to wish none of this had ever happened.

*****

Jean's two weeks in the infirmary seemed to fly by. Every day saw Scott coming to see her in the morning and Logan visiting in the afternoon. Kitty had made it an annoying habit to come down and gush about how romantic it all was. Kurt and Remy came to visit her often, but they told her that it might be best if they didn't come by too much as Logan and Scott were both fairly paranoid as it was. Jean thought that statement was a little rude, but she figured it was probably true.

Finally, the day came that Hank told her she could get out of bed and return to her normal life, or as normal as life in a sub-basement underneath a huge mansion could be while hiding from the government for your life. Jean had been both dreading and looking forward to this day for a while. She went to visit the Professor in his office when she first got out of the infirmary. She was surprised by how unhappy he seemed. The whole situation between Scott, Logan, and her seemed to really unsettle him. Finally, Jean went to her bedroom and sat down on her bed. It was finally time.

She called telepathically for Scott and Logan to come to her room, which they both did promptly. As they stood in front of her, Jean could see what everyone had meant about the tension between them. She took a deep breath and began the speech that she had planned.

"I wasn't expecting to ever be in this situation. It's been as much of a surprise to me as it was to both of you. I've made my decision, though, and I promised that I would announce it today.

"Scott, we've been together for over a year now. I've told you that I love you many times, and I have always meant it. I still do mean it. You've been there for me more times than I can count and, as you once said, you know me better than anyone ever has or ever will. I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't had you in my life for so long. I still remember when I first came to the Institute. We were the only teenagers here and we grew really close because of it. But for some reason that I still don't understand, I started dating Duncan not long after I started school. Eventually, I figured out what I needed to do and I left him so that we could start our relationship. And that relationship has been the most sacred thing in my life for over a year. I love you more than you know and I always will.

"Logan, I wasn't expecting to fall in love with you! You're not the guy that I always dreamed about, but then again, you are. As a little girl, I always imagined myself with a big strong man who had all the rough, masculine qualities that he should have, but still had a soft spot in his heart that I could fit into. When we were talking two weeks ago, I realized how well that description fits you. Over the last two weeks, we've actually gotten to know each other really well and I've been shocked to see how sensitive you can be. You put up a tough exterior, but you've let me see how sweet you can be and that only makes me love you more.

"So now it's time for me to make my decision. I've been thinking with all my heart for the last two weeks and I've finally made up my mind. Whatever the outcome though, I beg you two not to hold a grudge. Please don't fight with each other over this. Whatever happens, I, as someone who loves both of you, am asking you two, who love me, not to let it interfere with your friendship or the lives of the X-Men. Can you promise me that?"

Scott and Logan looked at each other quickly and both nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I promise," said Scott.

"Same here," answered Logan.

"Good. Thank you," said Jean with relief.

Now her only question was if they would keep their promise.

"Then now it's time for me to announce my decision."

----------------------------------

****

A/N: Yes, I am actually evil enough to end the chapter right there! I realize it's a horribly evil cliffhanger, but I don't care. _I _already know who its gonna be anyway! lol. The question is, who do you want it to be? Let me know in your review. Will it change the outcome? Probably not, but I want to know who my readers are pulling for. 


	16. A Return to Normalcy

****

A/N: I'll make this brief because I know you all want to see Jean's decision. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but really wanted to see who all of you wanted to get chosen. I hope you can accept the decision. I apologize that I can't make everyone happy. If your person didn't get chosen, keep reading anyway as the triangle will continue despite the decision.

----------------------------------------------

"Then now it's time for me to announce my decision," said Jean as Scott and Logan stood in front of her in her bedroom.

She stood up and made eye contact with Scott, then turned her head and did the same with Logan. She had put a lot of thought into this decision and there was no going back now. Finally, she walked over and took Scott's hand.

"I'm sorry, Logan, but I've invested too much of myself into this relationship to throw it away."

Scott let a huge grin show on his face and put his arm over Jean's shoulder as she turned her head to look at her boyfriend.

"I love you," said Jean as she stepped closer to Scott and held him close to her.

"I love you too."

Logan hung his head low. It was over. He had thought he was so close and now it was all over. He didn't know what to do now. He wasn't even sure if he could stay in the mansion! He left the room dejectedly without a word to either of the two lovers.

*****

Scott and Jean sat next to each other during dinner that night for the first time in two weeks. All the X-Men were around the table except for Wolverine, who claimed he wasn't hungry.

When everyone had finished eating, Professor Xavier asked if he could have everyone's attention. The room grew quiet and everyone looked at him at the end of the table.

"Now that all the excitement around here has died down," he began, "I think it's time we all got back to as normal a life as we can. So, from now on things will be just as they always have been in the mansion. However, for obvious reasons, you all cannot return to school. That is why you will take classes here inside the mansion starting tomorrow."

There was a collective groan around the table at this announcement. They had all hoped that maybe the Professor would forget about school.

Xavier smiled. 

"Settle down. Classes will be taught by Ororo, Hank, Logan, Scott, Jean, and myself. So make sure you all get a good night's sleep tonight, because you start back to school again in the morning."

The younger X-men grumbled as they all stood up from their chairs and headed for the bedrooms. When they were gone, the Professor approached Scott and Jean, who were still sitting at the table.

"Thank you both for agreeing to help teach. I don't think we could do this without you."

"It's no problem, Professor," said Scott.

"I hope you two both have a lesson plan ready for tomorrow," said Hank as he stepped around the Professor's wheelchair and stood above them.

"Don't worry," Jean assured him, "we've got everything under control."

Hank laughed.

"You should wait until after your first day as a teacher is over before you make any assumptions about how much control you have over anything!"

Scott and Jean smiled nervously. They had been rather excited when the Professor first asked them to help with classes that afternoon, but now they were both starting to feel a little uneasy about it. After all, their students were going to be their best friends! 

"I'm sure you'll do fine," said Ororo encouragingly. "I'm not worried about either of you." 

"Neither am I," said the Professor. "Now then, we should be heading to bed as well. We'll be needing more energy than the kids come tomorrow."

*****

Gambit woke up and slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't believe it! Someone was banging on his door to wake him up! He stood up lethargically and glanced down at his clock. 

"Only 7:45," he mumbled to himself. "Alright! I'm comin'!" he yelled to the person on the other side of the door.

He opened the door and found Scott standing there.

"What's de deal, mon ami?"

"Time to wake up. Your classes start in 15 minutes."

Remy glared at Scott through half-open eyelids.

"Look mon ami, I'm 20 years old, older den you! I don't have class."

"The Professor wants you in class anyway."

Remy groaned. 

"I already went ta high school," he pleaded.

"You get a diploma?"

He glared at Scott again as he saw where this was going. Scott read his face for the answer.

"Then get dressed and be in the Professor's office in 15 minutes."

Remy just nodded as he shut the door in Scott's face. He couldn't imagine anything more annoying than his current situation.

*****

Classes started at 8:00 am sharp and lasted until 2:00. Xavier was the X-Men's new grammar teacher, Hank taught science, and Ororo was teaching math. After Ororo's class ended, the X-Men had a 1-hour lunch break before going to their afternoon classes with Scott and Jean. They were all looking forward to having class with their friends as their teachers, especially Kurt who kept talking about how easy the next two classes should be. At lunch, the X-men talked about how different it felt to have class in the mansion. Actually, Remy just sat and ate his food while the others had this discussion. Remy's day had not gotten any better as the morning progressed. He now found himself in the embarrassing position of a 20-year-old who was being forced to retake high school classes and he was pretty sure he might fail them!

After lunch, they all moved on to Jean's class, history. To everyone's demoralizing shock, Jean's syllabus looked impossible! It was clear that despite how good a friend she was to them all, "Ms. Grey" was going to be a hard teacher.

Finally, the now dejected X-Men dragged themselves to Scott's class, where they were delighted to find that Scott was just as fun a teacher as he was a friend! He was teaching literature and the class was actually quite enjoyable for all the students, even Remy who hated reading.

Scott's class ended at 2:00 and the X-Men got an hour off. At 3:00 though, they got to go to Logan's "class." It was actually less of a class and more of a boot camp. It lasted two hours, though Logan said it could last longer if he ever felt like they weren't doing their jobs right. Scott and Jean were students in this class just like the other X-men since this was combat training. The first day was spent on a Danger Room session that lasted an hour and forty-five minutes and left everyone exhausted.

*****

As the days and weeks went by, the fresh feeling of classes in the mansion wore off and everyone was getting tired of seeing the same walls every single day. The only thing keeping everyone from going crazy was that the mansion's basement was even bigger than the mansion itself, so the X-Men had more space to live in than even they were used to. The classes got harder as time marched on and the teachers got more accustomed to teaching. Except for Mr. McCoy's class. He was already used to teaching so his class had been hard since day 1.

It wasn't long before Remy had noticed his grades dropping, which was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't believe he was going to fail high school…again! For a while, he had just given up on the work, deciding that it didn't matter if he passed or failed since it wasn't really school anyway and he was, after all, 20 years old, old enough to have quit school two years prior! Of course, he had actually quit school four years prior, but that wasn't important.

After the Professor informed Remy that it mattered quite a bit whether he passed or failed his classes, he had reluctantly returned to homework and studying. But the work was even harder than he remembered it being in New Orleans. Finally, he had given in and decided to get some help. His worst subject was literature, taught by Scott. Remy felt that the main problem was that Scott's class was too laid-back and thus too easy to just blow off. They were now reading a book called As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Remy had read the first few chapters, but so far all he could understand was that some little kid thought his mother was a fish.

All this brought him to where he was now, standing outside one of the bedroom doors with the book in one hand. He took a deep breath and knocked twice on the door. It soon opened and Remy smiled at the occupant of the room.

"Hey cherie, how're ya doin' tonight?"

"Ah'm okay," answered Rogue. "Ya need somethin'?"

"Yeah, yer help. Could ya let me in?"

Rogue thought about it for a second and stepped to the side. He walked into the room and sat down in Rogue's chair as she shut the door.

"What's yer problem?" Rogue had already noticed the book in his hands so she figured he wanted help understanding it.

"Ya gotta help me with dis book, cherie. I don' get it an' we got a quiz tomorrow," he pleaded.

Rogue sat down on her bed and pulled out her copy of the book.

"Okay, what don't ya get?"

He thought about the question for a second, then realized where he was. The book was important, but he was alone with Rogue in her room! He'd worry about class later. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up!

"I don' get why ya didn' wanna kiss me las' month 'fore we went ta Chicago," said Remy with a sly smile.

Rogue looked up from her book in shock. She had thought he actually wanted help with class work!

"Ya know why! 'Cause o' mah powers."

Remy shrugged.

"I wasn't asking fer a big kiss, cherie. All I wanted was somethin' like de little peck I gave ya."

"Either way, it still drained yer powers some."

"It wasn' dat bad."

"But it could've been!" said Rogue fairly loud. She didn't want people in the rooms nearby to hear, so she lowered her voice. "Ya know Ah can't control how much power Ah take. Sure, Ah didn't take much that day, but on any other given day Ah might've taken half yer life! Ya couldn't have fought anybody then."

Remy was surprised to hear that from Rogue. She didn't often admit how little control she had over her power. Though the Professor had worked with her enough in the Danger Room that she had complete control over her new strength and flight, she still couldn't control how much of a person she took when she touched them. Remy didn't know what to say now, which was something that didn't happen often. The two mutants sat in silence for a minute as Rogue's words echoed in their minds.

"I know ya like me, cherie. Why don' ya admit it?" said Remy finally.

Rogue looked at him as the truth of his words bounced around her head.

"Because Ah can't. Even if Ah ever fall in love with someone, it won't matter 'cause Ah won't be able ta touch 'em. That means no kissin', no holdin' hands without mah gloves, no gentle massages, no… well, ya know what else. Ah can't do any of the stuff that people do when they're in love."

"But we can wear gloves, we've already kissed, I'll give ya a massage anytime ya want one, and we'll figure out de other part later. It could work, cherie."

Rogue took a deep breath and tried to come up with something else. There just had to be a reason she was holding back from him. She knew she'd find it if she just thought about it long enough.

"Look Remy, Ah can't imagine havin' a relationship where Ah can't even touch the guy. Trust me, Ah'm the one livin' with this mutation and Ah've thought about every situation, but there's just no way Ah could ever be in a real relationship with someone."

"Yer right," said Remy, "if ya define relationship as somethin' physical. But we can start somethin' between you an' me dat ain't so much physical as it is a real relationship."

Rogue wasn't expecting that out of Remy! It took her by surprise, but she quickly rebounded and responded.

"Ya sayin' ya wanna be in a relationship that ain't physical at all?"

Remy smiled. 

"Non, I'm sayin' we start a relationship and figure out de physical stuff later."

"That doesn't solve anything," said Rogue dryly. "All it does is delay the inevitable end of everything."

"Ya can't start a relationship t'inkin' 'bout when an' how it's gonna end, cherie. Ya start with optimism and expect ta work through de stuff dat ya keep sayin' would break us apart."

"Look, Ah don't see you an' me as the types of people who like to talk all night and never kiss or nothin'. Ah know ya want it to happen, Remy. Ta be perfectly honest, Ah do too. But it wouldn't work. We're not the type of people that could make it work."

"We'll never know dat 'til we try, will we cherie? If ya really want it, den let's give it a go."

Rogue started to protest again, but he was wearing her down and he seemed to have an answer for everything. She sighed and gave up. She wanted to be with Remy too much to protest against it anymore. She looked up at him. He was looking right at her expectantly, almost as if he knew what was coming.

"Okay. Let's give it a shot."

"Dat's my girl," said Remy proudly.

His whole being was leaping for joy, but he managed to contain it and not let her see how thrilled he was to hear those words.

"Now den, about dat book."

*****

The next day was full of gossip around the mansion. It was obvious to everyone at breakfast that something was going on between Remy and Rogue. They had sat beside each other and had just been noticeably different around each other than ever before. It wasn't long before Kitty pulled Rogue aside and asked what was going on. From there, word about the newest couple spread like wildfire.

Remy and Rogue were both a little put off by all the gossip. Neither were shy by any means, but they both felt some embarrassment from having their personal lives as the center of attention.

So the day went on with no one quite able to concentrate on much else than all the romance going on in the mansion. After all, Remy and Rogue were now a couple. Scott and Jean were a couple again. Logan obviously still had feelings for Jean, which he acted on whenever Scott wasn't around. In fact, Kitty had actually begun to feel sorry for Logan and would always say great things about him when Jean was around.

After Logan's Danger Room session that afternoon, the X-Men were absolutely exhausted. They had been forced to fight a combination of the Brotherhood and Acolytes plus Juggernaught all at once! It had taken them 3 and a half hours to complete the session. Now, they were all retreating to their rooms to change clothes and shower. Unfortunately, there weren't enough showers for everyone so Scott and Rogue found themselves in the living area waiting on everyone else to get out. Scott turned on the TV to see what was on while they waited. He eventually stopped on the local news, which was covering the election.

"Hey! I forgot today was election day!" said Scott when he realized what he was seeing.

Rogue eyed him quickly. 

"Like ya could've voted anyway. Ah bet they had troops there just in case any known mutant tried ta show up."

"Good point," conceded Scott as he turned his attention to the early predictions coming from the newsroom.

"And in the state elections, it looks like Democrat Edward Kelly will be winning the senate seat on a landslide," said the female reporter.

"Of course, we all expected that," said the male reporter. "Kelly is currently the mayor of Bayville, New York. But his brother was the immensely popular Senator Robert Kelly who was killed just weeks ago by a group of mutant radicals. Edward Kelly is running in his brother's stead and has shown a very anti-mutant platform in his campaign. He is expected to win easily."

"Well," said Scott, "it'll be official in just a matter of hours. Kelly will be a US Senator."

"Won't that get him out of our hair, though?" asked Rogue.

"In a way," answered Scott, turning to face the girl. "I mean, sure, he won't be doing anything directed at the X-Men anymore, but I bet he's got all sorts of stuff planned to direct at all the mutants. It's not gonna be pretty."

The TV reporters turned their attention to elections around the country. It looked to Scott and Rogue like all the anti-mutant forerunners were winning easily.

"Definitely not gonna be pretty," repeated Scott.


	17. The Passing of Time

****

A/N: Okay, so this chapter did not work out like I had hoped. I ended up getting caught with some bad writer's block and so I ended up with a horrible chapter that barely advances the story. Sorry. Fortunately, the next few chapters are going fine so fear not! Things are about to get much better.

And Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to everyone!

---------------------------------

The next few months passed quietly for the X-Men. They kept a close watch on the new Senator Kelly, who was quickly emerging as a leader in Congress and gaining plenty of respect around the nation. So far, he hadn't proposed any new legislation, but everyone knew it had to be coming. The X-men were worried about Kelly, but they soon found it easy to put him out of their minds and ignore his actions. The Professor warned everyone not to underestimate the senator, but it was hard to live everyday on high alert for a threat that may be months or even years away. 

As time went on, they began having short field trips that allowed everyone to get out of the mansion's lower levels and enjoy some fresh air every now and then. During these trips, the X-men mostly camped outside. They were all sick and tired of being indoors all the time and so the monthly camping trip became a highlight of their lives.

At Christmas, they held a very small celebration that included no gifts since shopping was out of the question. To the surprise of all the adults, the kids actually got along pretty well despite the constant close quarters. In fact, everyone's friendships seemed to be flourishing in this environment!

All except for one friendship, that is. Two of the X-men were no longer friends. In fact, they downright hated each other. These two were Scott and Logan. Ever since the episode with Jean, the two hadn't been on good terms. Multiple Danger Room sessions had been abruptly stopped so the X-Men could break up a fight between them. Things had gotten so bad that both mutants had learned never to be around the other one, as a fight would surely ensue if they ever stayed in the same room together for more than a few minutes. The only exception to this rule was at meals, where they sat on opposite ends of the table and refused to so much as look at each other.

The Professor had spent many hours with Scott, Jean, and Logan to try to end the feud, but it was all to no avail. It seemed that nothing could end the ongoing fight between Cyclops and Wolverine. Over time, the other X-men learned to accept the struggle between them and simply look past it.

Through all this, Jean found herself caught in the middle. The feud had begun because of her, after all, although it had progressed to being more about who was "better" than who was with Jean. Though it had been 4 months since Jean had chosen to stay with Scott, she was dismayed that she still had feelings for Logan, though not enough to rethink her position.

Despite these troubles, the relationship between Jean and Scott was growing more and more serious. Jean was beginning to think of Scott as the man she would eventually marry, but she couldn't tell if Scott was thinking the same thing. It wouldn't matter if he was or not though, as she wasn't really ready for that commitment quite yet. But she caught herself daydreaming about it often.

Likewise, the relationship between Rogue and Remy was progressing well. The two were much more rambunctious than Scott and Jean, but everyone enjoyed seeing them together. They were a fun couple and both made up well for the other's shortcomings, especially in Danger Room training sessions. However, they still hadn't quite figured out how to deal with "the Problem," as Remy now referred to Rogue's powers. He was growing more and more willing to steal a quick kiss though, and Rogue had learned to sense when he was about to strike so that she could focus and not absorb too much of his energy. 

It seemed that love was just in the air at the Institute. The only young mutants not paired off were Kurt and Kitty, who had come to a mutual agreement that they wouldn't let the others pressure them into a dating relationship. They had decided not long after Rogue and Remy began dating that they were just friends and neither saw the other as anything different. They were content to just sit back and watch the soap opera unfold before their eyes. In fact, when talking to Kurt, Kitty often referred to the mansion as "All My Mutants."

So with the exception of the occasional fight between Scott and Logan, everything went smoothly inside the mansion as winter came.

As the time passed though, Xavier became more and more concerned about the Anti-Mutant Act. He was beginning to fear that it might stay in effect longer than he had first anticipated. He had begun contacting influential friends who he hoped could find a way to reverse the act, but so far nothing was working. Finally, he only had one option left and it was risky. It took the Professor a long while to finally admit to himself that this was the only way left. He was going to have to rely on the help of humans to find a way to reverse the Anti-Mutant Act. Ordinarily, Xavier wouldn't think a thing about contacting humans for help. But in this case, revealing himself as a mutant could very well mean the end of his life. 


	18. A Dark Prophecy

****

A/N: You were all too kind about the last chapter. Thank you though. Anyway, this should kickstart the next act in the story. Enjoy!

-------------------------

The ringing phone clamored loudly in the small apartment. The young woman in the apartment woke with a start and grumbled as she picked the phone up and put it to her face.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"Hi Raven. I see you've gone back to working for old friends again."

Mystique snapped sat straight up in the bed, now wide-awake.

"Irene! How did you get this number?"

"Remember when he wrote down the number and gave it to you? I saw that. But that's not important. I know what he's planning and I have information I think both you and he will find helpful."

"Well then, what is it?"

"I'd rather tell you in person. You know, it's been too long since we last saw each other, Raven."

Mystique sighed.

"Fine. Where are you?"

"In the hotel across the street. I'm in room 413."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning, say 9:00? See you then, Raven. And bring him with you."

"Fine. Goodbye Irene."

"Goodnight, Raven."

Mystique slammed the phone down. Irene was family, or at least as close as you could get to family, and it would be nice to see her again, but she hated being followed without knowing it. Plus, Irene had not sounded happy.

"Humph. Probably just mad that I'm working with Eric again," said Mystique as she picked the phone back up and dialed another number.

She waited until she heard a click followed by Eric's voice.

"Who is this?"

"Eric, It's me."

There was a short pause.

"Why are you calling me?"

"I've got some interesting news."

*****

Mystique and Magneto in normal civilian dress was a strange sight to behold, but they had to keep up appearances while they traveled to Irene's hotel room. When they arrived at the door, Mystique reached up to knock, but it opened before she had a chance.

"Hello Raven," said Irene with a nod. 

She turned to face the other mutant. 

"Eric."

Mystique and Magneto stepped into the apartment quickly and shut the door.

"Hi Irene," said Mystique. "What's going on here."

The blind woman sat down in a soft chair and motioned for the other two to have a seat as well.

"I'm just trying to be helpful."

"How can _you_ help us?" asked Magneto with disgust in his voice.

"I know what you're planning," said Irene as she looked directly at the man.

Magneto impulsively looked away from her. It was a strange feeling for him to be stared down by a blind woman.

"As for how I can help, I have some advice for you. But first, I have a quick question. When are you going to go through with your plans?"

"In four months," replied Magneto.

"Hmm, interesting. I always wonder just how long it will be until my visions take place. Thank you. Now then, it just so happens I know what you will have to do in order to win the battle."

"We're listening," said Magneto.

"As I'm sure you've considered, the X-Men will show up to fight you that day. If you do what I tell you, you will win. If you don't do this, I promise you will lose the day."

"Well then tell me what it is!" shouted Magneto, who was growing angry and impatient. He didn't like people suggesting that he could lose to the X-men.

"The X-men's success that day rests on the shoulders of two people. You must keep them out of the fight at all costs."

"Irene, who are they?" asked Mystique as she saw Magneto's anger rising at the vague statements coming from the blind mutant.

"Cyclops and Wolverine. You must keep them out of the battle. If either one is allowed to fight, the X-men will leave victorious. Also, incapacitating one will not ensure victory. You must stop them both."

Magneto and Mystique sat back in their chairs and looked at each other. They were being asked to subdue the two leaders and best fighters of the X-men.

"Why should we trust you?" asked Magneto.

"Because I'm a friend of Raven's. She's like a sister to me and I will not allow anything bad to happen to her."

"And what about Rogue?" asked Magneto. "I believe she is like a daughter to you, is she not? Would you let something bad happen to her?"

Irene dropped her head with a sigh.

"Rogue is no longer the daughter I raised. She has changed. My loyalties lie with my sister."

There was a short pause as the three mutants sat in silence and simply looked at each other, except in the case of Irene of course.

"Thank you, Irene. We appreciate your help," said Mystique as she and Magneto stood to leave.

"You're welcome, Raven. And good luck to you and your friends."

Mystique walked to the door and opened it. Magneto followed her but turned around before walking through the doorway.

"How do you suggest we subdue the two X-men."

"The Cyclops and the Wolverine have one common weakness that will cause both to fall."

"What is it?"

"Jean Grey."


	19. Afraid of the Truth

****

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I've been trying to get one out every weekend, but with the holidays and other things, I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had time to write. Incidentally, I don't know if I'll have another chapter ready to go this weekend or not. I'll do my best, but it may be next Saturday before I can have another one ready.

Anyway, I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. This chapter was a little tougher, but I like it anyway. As most of you Romy fans have undoubtedly guessed by now, Romy is not the man coupling in this story. However, I promise bits of Romy here and there and I will devote at least one chapter to it eventually. But please accept that it is not my main focus. I meant to have more of it in the story, but things just didn't work that way. Sorry. To be honest, I really didn't mean for this to become as much of a Romance as it has. Oh well.

Wow, I don't usually write quite that many notes. But I'm out of things to say so enjoy the chapter!

----------------------------

Jean was standing in her "classroom," which was really nothing more than a storage room that had been arranged to hold classes temporarily. She was looking over the tests from the day before and trying to finish grading them before her students arrived. During class, she forced herself to think of everyone as her student rather than her friend. She found it easier to teach if she distanced herself from them like this. Unfortunately, she was finding it very hard to concentrate on grading papers today. 

The day earlier, Storm, Beast, and the Professor had left the mansion for about a week. They were going to the headquarters of the American Civil Liberties Union in hopes that they could help repeal the Anti-Mutant Act. This was a risky decision because if they refused to help, there was a good chance the three mutants would not be returning to the mansion again.

Jean couldn't help but smile as she remembered the conversations between Hank and the Professor before the trip. Xavier had insisted that Hank accompany him on the trip. While Xavier possessed the most powerful mind in the world, Hank knew much more about law than the Professor could ever hope to learn. Mr. McCoy, however, had a deep distrust of the ACLU. The group was supposed to support and fight for the rights of minorities, but they refused thus far to recognize mutants as a valid minority in the world. This meant they had devoted absolutely no time at all to helping mutants in America and Hank held a grudge against them for the oversight. After days of back and forth arguing between the two men who may very well have been the two greatest minds in the world, mutant or human, Hank had begrudgingly agreed to go. He had even agreed to wear an image inducer to help him blend in. Needless to say, Hank had not left the mansion happily.

Jean tried to force these thoughts from her mind because she knew where they led. With Storm, Beast, and the Professor gone, there were only three adults left in the mansion. She and Scott were both adults now, but neither really saw themselves as anything but a kid. So really, there was only one adult in the mansion and he had been left completely in charge. That man was Logan.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been a problem. But with everything that had happened in the past few months, Jean was worried. She could just sense that Scott and Logan were going to end up in a huge fight due to this. The power struggle between them had been simmering for months and Jean was afraid it was about to boil over. She had voiced this concern to the Professor and he had informed her that he was well aware of the inherent problems with leaving the two men in the mansion like this. Nevertheless, it had to be done. Xavier had the political power to influence the ACLU, Hank had the intelligence to argue the case to them, and Ororo was afraid for his safety and had refused to stay at home. Jean's memory recalled Xavier's final words to her before leaving the mansion.

"Just make sure the school is still here when I return."

She shut her eyes and shook her head in an effort to throw the thoughts from her mind. She had to concentrate on grading these papers. She glanced at her watch and saw that she had ten minutes left.

"Just enough time," she mumbled as she picked her pen back up, bit her lip, and started marking on Remy's test.

*****

Once her class had ended, Jean began the daily task of cleaning the room of the trash left on the floor by her students. They weren't real messy, but they tended to leave wads of paper lying around on the floor nearly everyday. Jean bent down to pick up a crumpled piece of notebook paper from the floor beside Kurt's desk, then stood back up to find Logan standing silently in her doorway.

"Hey Red. How're ya doin' today?"

Jean smiled at him as she stepped around her desk to throw the paper away.

"Oh, not bad I guess. And you?"

Logan stepped forward and smiled back at her with the smile Jean only saw on him when they were alone together. This smile was how she liked to picture him best. When he smiled like that he looked so suave, kind, almost debonair! It was almost enough to…

Jean blinked her eyes and lightly shook her head. She couldn't stand to have these thoughts anymore! She loved Scott. She would always love Scott!

"I'm doin' alright. Ya sure yer okay? Ya don't look okay."

"I'm fine, Logan. I'm just…tired."

Logan smiled as he read through her words.

"Heh, Tired or worried?"

Jean looked up at him. It wasn't until this moment that she realized how close he was to her. They were only standing about a foot away from each other. Jean absently wondered where Scott was. Then she remembered that he was teaching class now and would be for the next hour. She and Logan were the only people in the mansion not currently in Scott's classroom.

"I guess I'm more worried than anything," admitted Jean. "I mean, with the Professor gone I just feel more vulnerable. It doesn't feel as safe around here without him."

"He's coming back."

"He _might_ be coming back," corrected Jean. "There's a difference. If the ACLU doesn't agree to help us, then they may never come back and the Anti-Mutant Act would just keep going until they either kill all of us or we rebel with some kind of war. Either way, it won't be pretty."

"They'll be back," Logan assured her. "I've known Chuck for a long time. He promised me he'd be back and I got no reason not to believe him."

"I hope you're right."

"I am. But somethin' tells me that ain't what's really botherin ya."

Jean looked up at him again. He was getting too good at reading her emotions.

"Fine. I'm worried about what's going on around here. I'm worried about what's going to happen while the Professor is gone."

"You're worried about what I'm gonna do," said Logan, finishing her thoughts.

Jean averted her eyes to the side and bit her lip.

"Well, yeah."

"Listen Red, I made a promise to Chuck that I wouldn't start anything while he's gone. And I always keep my promises."

This made Jean feel better to know she wouldn't have to break up a fight during the next week.

"O' course, I suggest ya keep Red-eye away from me 'cause if he starts somethin' I'm gonna protect myself," said Logan matter-of-factly.

All the calm Jean had just felt was gone again.

"Don' worry, Red. We ain't gonna fight. It wouldn't be fair ta you."

"Thank you," said Jean softly. Somehow that wasn't reassuring.

Logan backed away from her and sat down on one of the desks.

"I got a question for ya, Red."

Jean sensed that this was the real reason he had come here so she walked over to lean on her own desk.

"What is it?"

"Ya remember that day when ya woke up in the infirmary an' all this started?"

"Yes," said Jean as her mind trailed off to the discussion she and Logan had that day.

"Before I left, ya kissed me."

"Right."

"Why?"

Jean paused to think for a moment. She wanted to make sure whatever she said would be the truth, so she searched her heart for the right answer.

"At the time, I didn't know what else to do. I guess I was caught off-guard when you said you loved me and I just reacted to it."

"So your natural reaction to hearing those words is to kiss the guy who said 'em, whoever he is?" asked Logan with a smile.

"No, I just…Look, I was confused and…"

"You still are," observed Logan.

Jean paused before going on.

"I guess I still am to a degree, but I know who I love and who I want to be with. I know it hurts you Logan, but I'm in love with Scott. End of story."

Logan stood up and put his weight on one leg. 

"That's not the end of the story. You said you loved me. Now if you wanna convince yourself that you and pretty-boy are meant for each other, go ahead. You can have your fun and play 'house' all day. That's fine with me. I just want you to admit to me and to yourself that you loved me then and you still love me now."

The words hung in the air as everything in the room seemed to focus on the pair of mutants facing each other.

Finally, after a long silence, Jean spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Logan. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Why can't you just admit it? Do you really think I don't know? C'mon Red, I've proved that I can read your feelings. I can tell what you're thinking just about all the time. Why bother lying to me? Do you really think it does any good?"

"I'm sorry," said Jean as she desperately fought back tears. Everything he had said so far was right on.

Logan sighed with a hint of anger. "Fine. But when you stop lying to yourself, I'll be waitin'."

He turned and left the room. Jean watched him go, then sat down in her chair and let a tear roll down her cheek.


	20. A Friend in Need

****

A/N: Yeah, I know I said it might be a while before the next chapter, but I got hit with inspiration so you're getting this update a couple days early! Also, I knew I wouldn't lose any readers by announcing that Romy was not going to be extremely important, but I felt my readers deserved to know that after I promised it to them.

I want to take an opportunity right now to speak to one of me lovely reviewers. If you are not bocaj, feel free to skip the rest of the "author's notes" and enjoy the new chapter! 

Now then bocaj, I would normally respond to you in an email, but you apparently don't have an account at ff.net for me to get your address from. As a result, my only way of speaking to you is through the means I am now taking advantage of so I will respond to your review right here. I agree with your sentiment of "get back to the war!" As I write this story, I often find myself wanting to add an action scene just for the fun of it. However, I have chosen to put more of a focus on relationships and general life at the mansion to stress that these are people. They're not soldiers or superheros. They are real people with real lives and real struggles. I wanted to illustrate that. There are a few battles still to come in the war but they will come when I am ready for them. 

Secondly, I'm very aware that this does not deserve it's R rating. My original intent was to have it be more violent and so I expected it to be R. If you read the first few chapters, they are pretty much filled with violence. However, the story has progressed to something that is closer to PG-13 now. There was a point that I considered moving it to the PG-13 area, but I was afraid I would confuse and lose some readers. My intentions are to finish the story in the R area and then move it to PG-13 for good once it is completed. 

This fic is rated R for violence, of which there is some. But unlike most R-rated fics, it contains no profanity or sex. Why? Because I am a Christian and I don't believe in using profanity or in promoting wild premarital sex. My apologies if it bothers you that I refuse to lay down in the gutter. 

Finally, if anything about this story bugs you, feel free to stop reading. I am by no means forcing you to read my story. I apologize if it hasn't been what you liked or expected, but I happen to really like the direction this story has gone and, ultimately, mine is the only opinion that matters in that area. Should you choose to continue reading, then I welcome your constructive input. Rest assured that battles lie in the near future. But if every chapter were full of constant violence, it would eventually run dry and get quite old.

Despite what it may sound like, I thank you for your review. I appreciate any and all input from my readers and you have been reading "Evolutionary Crisis" longer than most of the other reviewers. Thank you for that. I also apologize for the public nature of this response. As I said, I would have normally sent this to you in an email, but I have no way of finding your address. Whatever you choose to do, I wish you well.

--------------------------------

For the next few days, Jean spent most of her free time alone in her room. When Scott would try to come in and talk to her, she always politely told him to leave claiming she needed to think. Needless to say, Scott was worried. He had no doubt that this had something to do with Logan, but he couldn't quite figure out how.

Logan, on the other hand, was in a much better mood than Scott was. You could never really say he was in a good mood, but he wasn't in a bad mood either. He had the luxury of knowing what Jean's problem was, but he also knew he couldn't control her. He had decided that he would let her make her own decision, whatever it was. And he was confident it would be in his favor this time.

Jean was absolutely tormented by her predicament. Once again, she found herself weighing Scott and Logan against each other. And once again, she found the decision too hard to make. It began to eat away at her. Pretty soon, she got to the point where she only emerged from her room to teach class and eat meals. 

It didn't help her stress that the Professor was due to return in 2 days. She wasn't so worried anymore that he wouldn't be returning. She was actually pretty sure he would be back, though they had not received any news from him yet. What worried her now was what the Professor would say if he returned to find her agonizing over Scott and Logan again. It was no secret that the Professor thought she should be with Scott and he had grown fairly upset with her before when she first grappled with this decision. So she was determined to make her final decision before the Professor got back. And this time, it would be her final decision.

The only problem was that she had 48 hours to make a decision she felt like she couldn't have made in a lifetime! She was getting desperate and she needed someone to talk to. But ordinarily she would go to Scott for advice and she obviously couldn't do that this time. She lay on her bed as she considered each resident in the mansion, trying to determine which one she could talk to the easiest and who would give the best advice.

Kurt and Kitty weren't even options since the two of them had both made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the drama going on in the mansion. There was Rogue, who had become more of a friend since the confinement in the mansion, but they still weren't close enough to have a heart to heart chat about something like this.

That only left Remy, who Jean had become fairly good friends with back in Cuba. Since returning to the mansion though, she had been so caught up with her love triangle that she hadn't spent much time with him. But now she thought of him as the only person she could talk to. And actually, she could see Remy and herself easily having an honest and open conversation about all this. Strange as it may seem, the arrogant Cajun was her best choice for love advice!

So the next day, Jean approached him in the den after his class with Scott had ended. Remy was sprawled across the couch watching TV at the time.

"Hey Remy!"

He turned around to face the redhead coming up behind him.

"Well what do ya know? If it ain't 'Ms. Grey!' How ya doin' cherie?"

Jean sat down on the couch next to him.

"Honestly, not well. Can we talk?"

Remy saw the pain in her eyes and sat up next to her.

"Course we can. How can I help ya?"

Jean took a deep breath to calm her nerves and just started talking.

"You already know about everything that's been going on lately with Scott, Logan, and me. It's driving me crazy, Remy, because I'm in love with both of them but I can only choose one and I don't know who I'm gonna choose but I've been thinking about it constantly for days now and I'm not getting anywhere and I don't know what I'm gonna do!" said Jean rapidly.

Remy stared at her for a moment as he tried to make sense of the jumbled words she had just thrown at him. 

"Whoa, slow down there, cherie. Ya askin' for advice or are ya jus' lookin' to vent?"

Tears had already begun to form in Jean's eyes as all of the emotion flooded her. It felt good to be able to talk to someone. She hadn't told anyone exactly how she felt in months and she was ready to get it off her chest. 

"If you have any advice, Remy, I'd love to hear it."

"Okay den, cherie, de first t'ing ya gotta do is calm down. Yer drivin' yerself insane."

Jean took a deep breath and composed herself.

"Alright, now ask yerself who ya enjoy spendin' time wit' de most." 

"I've been doing that and it doesn't help."

"Den t'ink harder. Ya gotta relax cherie. Jus' take it one step at a time. Who do ya like bein' around de most?"

There was a long silence.

"Scott," she replied. "Logan's nice and all, but he can be difficult to be around sometimes. Scott always makes me feel special when we're together."

"Now ya see, was dat so hard?" asked Remy with a smile.

Jean looked up at him and couldn't help but smile back. 

"No, I guess not."

"Okay. Now den, when ya get dressed in de mornin' an' ya put on all dat makeup and fix your hair and such, who are ya t'inkin' 'bout?"

"What?"

"Ya gotta be tryin' ta impress someone wit' de makeup and dose clothes. Everybody's tryin' ta impress someone! So who do ya t'ink about when ya get dressed in de mornin'?"

"I don't know. I guess its Logan. I feel like I don't have to impress Scott as much for him to like me."

"Fair 'nough. Who shows up in yer dreams more often?"

Jean thought for a long while.

"Lately both of them are there. I'll be with Scott in the dream and then he'll suddenly turn into Logan and I'll see Scott standing off to the side watching us and calling my name. Then I look up at Logan and then to Scott. Then I let go of Logan's arm and walk ahead of him and look at both of them standing next to each other, like I'm about to make my decision. But then I wake up and I don't see who I choose in the dream."

"How 'bout before Logan talked to ya a couple days ago? Who did ya dream 'bout las' week?"

Jean stopped and looked at Remy.

"How did you know Logan had talked to me again? I haven't told anybody about that."

He just smiled his most mischievous smile.

"I skipped Scott's class dat afternoon an' heard you two talkin'. An' from what I hear, yer Visor-boy was so caught up wit' talkin' ta de others dat I don' t'ink he even missed me!"

Jean smiled back in surprise. It struck her how gutsy it was to skip a class when there are only 3 other students and you lived in the same house as the students and the teacher! 

"You sure you should be telling this to one of your teachers?" she asked teasingly.

"It's not like its some big secret, cherie. Everybody knows I skip every now an' den."

They both shared a little laughter before Remy reminded her of his question.

"So, who is it ya used ta dream 'bout before Logan talked ta ya?"

Jean began trying to think back to her dreams from a week before. She seemed to remember dancing with someone, but who was it? Maybe if she could remember where they had been. She closed her eyes and searched the deepest crevices of her mind. Finally, her eyelids reopened with a jolt and she looked back at Remy.

"It was Scott! We were dancing at our wedding."

"Now we're gettin' somewhere! Okay, one more question. And for dis one, ya gotta close yer eyes and keep 'em closed."

Jean nodded and closed her eyes as she leaned back into the cushions on the couch.

"Okay, now listen to me cherie an' I want ya to imagine everythin' I say, ya understand?"

She nodded and Remy went on.

"Okay, imagine yer in yer room sittin' on yer bed. He walks through de door and silently sits down next to ya."

"Who?" asked Jean.

"He. Him. What he looks like is up to you, cherie. Now be quiet and listen."

Jean nodded an apology and leaned back again.

"Ya both hold each other close and wrap yer arms around one another's bodies. Den he leans in close ta yer face. Yer noses rub against each other slightly. Ya move towards him and yer lips brush against his. Ya reach up an' put yer hand behind his head as his lips reach out for yours. Finally, yer mouths close on each other and ya just hold him close as ya share de kiss between de two of ya. His hands support yer head an' his fingers twist through yer hair. Ya feel more comfortable in his grasp dan ya ever have before. Ya let yourself relax in his arms an' he holds ya up close ta him as his lips finally end de kiss slowly. Afterwards, ya both simply hold each other's bodies close, not wanting de other to leave or be away from ya ever again."

Remy watched Jean's reaction to the scene he had just set up. Over the years, he had learned to read the women around him and figure out what they like. He had a hunch, and was apparently right, that Jean was more of a romantic type of girl who just liked to imagine herself being with the man she loved.

"Alright, now open yer eyes."

Jean slowly opened her eyes and looked back at Remy. 

"Now tell me what he looked like."

She didn't have to search her mind or her heart for the answer this time. She knew it immediately.

"It was Scott."

"Den I t'ink we jus' solved de riddle, cherie! Ya prefer ta be around Scott, ya don' feel like ya gotta impress him, ya dream 'bout marryin' him (an' by de way, I don' suggest tellin' him 'bout dat right now), an' ya just imagined him kissin' ya without me directin' ya ta dat conclusion!"

Jean's mouth turned up in a huge grin. She could literally feel the weight lift from her shoulders. She felt free again for the first time in months!

"You're right, I love Scott! I can't believe I ever doubted it. Thank you so much, Remy! I don't know what I would've done without you!"

"It was nothin' cherie. Just doin' what I'm here ta do."

Jean stood up from the couch and stretched her arms over head. It felt so incredible to have the burden removed! Remy stood up as well, sensing that she was about to run off in search of Scott. Jean grabbed his hand and leaned over to kiss Remy's cheek as a friendly thank you, then ran through the door with a wide-mouthed smile crossing her face. 

Across the room in the other doorway, Rogue's blood ran cold.


	21. First Fight

****

A/N: Frankly folks, I'm glad the triangle is over too. But is it really over this time? Only I know. hehehe. I promise that the Jean angst is over and done for. I also promise that everything (or at least almost everything) will tie together soon. Be patient. I admit to getting sidetracked with the love triangle much more than I ever meant to. This story has surprised even me with the turn it's taken towards being so much of a romance. That was not intentional. But it has been interesting for me so I guess that makes up for it.

Foenixfyre, I agree with everything you said. It has become a distraction for me and I apologize for that. But don't worry because we will be shifting our attention quite a bit with the next chapter. Also, and this goes to all reviewers, I can handle criticism. Don't be afraid to offer constructive criticism to me. The only thing I didn't appreciate in your review, Foenixfyre, was the phrase "not trying to pull a bocaj." I'm sure you just weren't thinking, but that's not fair to bocaj. Which brings me to…

bocaj, apology accepted. I want to apologize to you as well. While I can take constructive criticism pretty well, I tend to echo people's emotions in their reviews. If critiques are offered kindly, then I respond kindly. If the reviewer is mad when he writes the review, as you were, I tend to get mad as well. And when I get mad, I go off on long rants about how I'm right. lol. I understand that we all have to blow off some steam every now and then. I hope you will forgive me for tearing into your review as I did. And I'm glad you've decided to continue reading. 

So it's a new chapter! Romy fans, enjoy!

-----------------------------------------

Remy watched Jean walk out the door, then sat back down and turned the TV back on. It felt good to help someone out every once in a while. He kicked his feet up on the table in front of him and congratulated himself on the brilliant advice he'd just given. But his light and peaceful mood was quickly cut short by Rogue's voice yelling in his ear.

"What was that all about?!"

Remy jumped clear off the couch and landed facing the opposite direction, looking straight into the eyes of his fuming girlfriend. 

"Whoa! Ya scared me half ta death, cherie!"

He faked a smile and wondered how long she had been standing behind him.

"Drop the smile, swamp rat, and don't try ta sweet talk me this time with that 'cherie' crap. Ah saw Jean kiss ya jus' now and Ah expect an explanation!"

Remy's smile was immediately gone, replaced with a humble and pitiable face that he hoped would garner at least a little favor. Judging by Rogue's glare, he wasn't getting any.

"Now hold on Rogue. Ya don' know what ya saw so don' jump ta conclusions. Jus' let me explain."

Rogue stared into his eyes coldly as she slipped off a glove.

"No need ta explain, sugah. Ah'll see fer mahself!"

She lunged at him. He dodged her bare hand at the last second, falling back onto the couch in the process.

"Cherie, it's not what ya t'ink it is! It was completely innocent!"

Rogue was now literally chasing Remy around the room. When she was close enough, she would try to get her bare hand on his face. When he wasn't nearby, she threw anything she could at him, a task that didn't mix well with her superstrength. It wasn't long before furniture was being overturned and the walls were full of holes made by lamps and books thrown from across the room.

"Right, 'cause yer _so_ innocent! How could Ah ever accuse someone like _you_ of flirtin' with another girl?" called Rogue sarcastically.

"Rogue, if ya'd jus' calm down I could tell ya exactly what happened! I swear to ya it was jus' a friendly gesture!"

Remy ducked an oncoming lamp, which flew straight through the wall and into an adjacent room. He heard Kitty scream, but didn't think anything of it. He had bigger problems at the time.

He leaped over the couch, then backed up against the wall. Rogue grabbed a book off the table beside her and tossed it at Remy. Just then, he felt a strange sensation throughout his body. He looked down in surprise. When he looked up, he found Kitty standing directly in front of him. The book flew straight through Kitty before she even knew what was happening and bounced off Remy's forehead, knocking him to the ground in a daze. 

"Hey! Like, what are you doing in here?!" yelled Kitty at Rogue, not realizing that Remy was behind her in pain.

"Kitty! Phase him into the wall or somethin'!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked the girl, turning around to see what Rogue was pointing at. It was then that she saw Remy on one knee right behind her with his hand rubbing the sensitive area where his nose met his forehead between his eyes. 

"Oh!" she said, finally understanding what Rogue meant. 

Without any more questions, Kitty grabbed Remy's arm and lowered him halfway into the floor before he knew what was happening.

Remy groaned and surveyed his new situation.

"Now dat jus' ain' fair."

Rogue stepped up next to Kitty and the two girls looked down on their prisoner.

"Thanks Kitty."

"No problem. But could someone, like, please tell me what's going on here?" 

"I caught him kissin' Jean!"

Kitty gasped and turned her gaze down to Remy.

"You did what?! Like, what were you thinking?!"

"I didn' kiss her!" explained Remy quickly. "I was givin' her some advice fer her problems wit' de other two an' she gave me a friendly kiss on de cheek as a t'ank you!' It was completely innocent!"

Kitty and Rogue looked at each other and smirked.

"Yeah right," said Rogue as she bent down and reached her hand towards his face. "We'll know the truth in just a second, swamp rat."

Finally, her hand found its place on the same cheek that Jean had just kissed. Remy gasped and quickly passed out. Rogue stood back up and looked at Kitty as she replaced her glove over her hand.

"Well?" asked the eager girl.

"He was tellin' the truth," said Rogue with a slight shrug. "But he enjoyed the kiss tons more than he let on just now."

Rogue shook her body as if she was shaking mud off of her.

"Keep an eye on him, Kitty. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower. Remind me never ta go inside the mind of a guy just after he stops talkin' to an' kissin' a pretty girl."

"Eww, gross! Spare me the details,"

"Gladly," said Rogue as she slipped out the door. Kitty then pulled Remy out of the floor and carried him as best she could to the couch. Then she turned on the TV and waited for him to wake up.

Rogue was walking down the hallway when she passed an open room where she could hear Jean talking to Scott. She stopped and considered stepping inside to confront the psychic redhead, but quickly thought better of it and moved on to the shower.

*****

Remy had hoped that Rogue would understand how innocent the exchange between he and Jean had been. But the next day, she was still quite angry at him. He had tried to talk to her again and again, but nothing seemed to calm her down. The sight of a girl she strongly disliked kissing her boyfriend, no matter how innocently, was not something she could quickly forget.

Two days after the whole incident, Remy knocked on Rogue's door.

"Let me in, cherie. We need ta talk."

"We've been talkin', Remy. Ah'm tired of havin' the same conversation everyday," she said through the door.

"I promise dis one'll be different, cherie. Jus' open de door."

Rogue sighed and stepped across the room. When she opened the door, she found Remy standing there with a gift-wrapped box in his arms.

"Please tell me those aren't flowers," said Rogue dryly.

Remy smiled. "Nope, better."

"Come on in," She stepped to the side to let him in the room, then shut the door. "Ya do know that Ah'm not gonna forgive and forget just 'cause ya brought me a present, right?"

"Course I do, cherie. But I've been t'inkin' of gettin' dis for ya fer a while now and dis seemed like de perfect opportunity."

She took the box and opened it slowly. She couldn't help but be curious as to what it would be. When she finally pulled the top off the box, she found a simple brown leather jacket folded up for her. She picked it up and held it against her body.

"A jacket?"

"Yeah, it goes wit' my coat. T'ink of it as me warmin' ya up when yer cold."

Rogue winced at how corny that had been. Remy just laughed it off as if he knew it was corny and didn't care. She figured he'd probably planned it to be as corny as possible just for the fun of it.

"When'd ya get this?"

"Snuck out las' night an' got it from de mall in town. Nice mall. I hadn't beed dere before."

They both laughed.

"De jacket's designed so dat it ain't too stiff de first few times ya wear it. I guess it's already sorta broken in in a way."

Rogue stood up and put the jacket on. Remy couldn't help but notice how good it looked on her. The jacket was only one or two shades darker than her auburn hair, which fell down to just centimeters over the collar. It fit perfectly.

"Thanks, Remy."

"You're most welcome, cherie."

"Ah'm still mad."

"I know."

*****

Hank, Ororo, and the Professor returned home the next day to find the mansion still standing, much to their relief. Though no one ever told them all the details of what happened while they were gone, the three mutants could easily see that Logan was even more upset than when they left and that Rogue and Remy were experiencing their first fight. But Jean seemed to be happier than she had been in months.

They informed everyone that the ACLU had agreed to help win back mutants' rights and that they had lobbyists working on their case already. Likewise, their team of lawyers had already filed a case with the courts charging that the Anti-Mutant Act was unconstitutional. It was only a matter of time now before everything was right again.


	22. Mutant Coup

****

A/N: This chapter is very, very long so I'm gonna keep the notes short. I've exaggerated a couple powers for my own purposes. I ask merely that you allow me this freedom without too many complaints. Thank you and enjoy!

----------------------------

There wasn't much for the X-Men to do but sit back and wait for the ACLU lawyers to call them and tell them they had won or lost the case. It was set to go to court in 2 months, which meant the trial would be in late June. It would land in a federal court located in California where the judge would most likely rule in favor of the mutants of America, though on paper it would be in favor of Charles Xavier, since it was he who had come forward first and filed the charges. The case of _Charles Xavier v. United States of America_ was set to be the most groundbreaking case in American history since _Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka_. 

Magneto finished reading the article about the case in the _Washington Post_ and threw the paper to the ground in disgust. The other people in the room all jumped at the sudden movement from their leader. The room was small, it was only a motel room after all, but it was full. The Acolytes and Brotherhood were both there, leaving little room for much movement. The only person not there was Sabertooth, who Magneto refused to allow into the group planning the next attack. Ever since his chat with Destiny, he couldn't allow Sabertooth's passion for fighting Wolverine stand between him and victory.

"So Charles is naïve enough to think the humans would allow him to win this battle in their courts. He must have finally lost that incredible mind of his."

"But if he won the case, wouldn't it mean the Anti-Mutant Act would be gone and this would all be over?" asked Pyro, who was across the room reclining in a wooden chair with his feet propped on the table while he played with a lighter.

"No," said Magneto without turning to face the Australian. "It would mean the Anti-Mutant Act would be gone and soon replaced with some new law that is much worse. Those government cowards will never accept us."

Pyro frowned. "I thought he said acceptance wasn't as important as fear," he mumbled to Lance, who was sitting in the chair next to him.

Magneto turned around viciously. "Fear _is_ the important thing!" he cried loudly. "But they will never fear us as long as we play by their rules, as my old friend has so stupidly done. We must rise above their rules and show our true power. This little lawsuit must be stopped at all costs." He turned to Mystique. "The plans have changed. We attack in two days!"

"What?" cried Mystique sharply. "I thought we still had three more weeks!"

"That was before Charles played into their hands."

"What are you talking about? He's not 'playing into their hands!' He's doing what they don't want us to do. He's challenging them!"

Magneto smirked at her naiveté. "Do you really believe that the Congressmen of this nation, the ones who understand the laws better than anyone else, never expected this law to be challenged in the courts? The Act is unconstitutional and they knew it from the beginning. They expected it to be repealed. Frankly, they're probably surprised it's taken this long for files to be charged. But even though the Anti-Mutant Act will be repealed, it still set one thing into the minds of all Americans. Mutants are dangerous. The Anti-Mutant Act was full of outrageous ideas that were designed to scare people. 'Why would the government capture and imprison mutants unless they're a serious danger to the rest of us?' Americans are scared of us now and that is what the Congress wants!"

"But isn't that what we want too?" asked Toad sheepishly. 

Magneto's gaze quickly settled on the teenage boy. Toad instantly regretted speaking.

"No. We want them to be just scared enough that they will do what we say. The government wants them scared enough to fight against us."

"So what's the difference?" asked Pietro.

"Government scares people by quietly suggesting that we want to control the world. That makes us no different from the aliens and communists the people see in the movies. And what do they do when the world is threatened in the movies? They send in the army and fight a war far away from peoples' homes. This way people think that the enemy's efforts are all focused on the war and that they are safe as long as they stay away from the battlefield. They scare the people enough to support the war, but not enough to be involved in it. We, on the other hand, must show them that we are fighting the war in their homes. We're not afraid to kill anyone, soldier or civilian. We don't waste our time fighting soldiers in faraway lands. Instead, we fight and kill everyday people in the middle of their homes. What the government has done is show us as the enemy, and then try to show that they can control us. What we must do is prove we cannot be controlled."

"And just what does any of that have to do with moving the day of our attack?"

"Simple, my dear Mystique. By attacking in two days, we can prove that we are not bound by any human court. It will prove beyond doubt that they have no control over us."

Mystique wasn't satisfied, but she sat back in silence and let him win the argument. He was in charge and if he said they attack in two days, then they attack in two days. No one could change his mind.

*****

Logan walked into the kitchen for a snack, saw Scott, and immediately left the kitchen. It wasn't that he hated Scott. He was just afraid that he might impale his head on a metal claw if they were left alone together. Instead, Logan headed for the TV room, where he fell into the couch, grabbed the remote, and switched on the 30-inch screen.

It took a moment for the image to warm up and he heard the sounds of cartoons before he could see them. Soon, he saw ducks hitting rabbits on the head with huge mallets and coyotes running around with boxes of TNT. He changed the channel quickly, but the next one wasn't any better. This channel was showing some tearjerker movie about an abused woman who ran away from her husband, lost her kids to the courts when she couldn't pay to feed them, and eventually killed herself. Who found this stuff entertaining? He changed the channel again. This time he landed on the news, where they were running a breaking story. Logan's eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing. He jumped over the couch and ran for the Professor, forgetting to turn the TV off. Only two noises could now be heard in the room. One was that of Logan's voice calling for "Chuck." The other was the voice of the newswoman from the TV.

"…are currently attacking the Capitol building in Washington DC. Congressmen and women are reportedly being held captive inside the building by the mutants. Meanwhile, other mutants outside the building refuse to let anyone get close to an entrance into the Capitol. So far, they have killed four police officers who tried to get through them. Stay tuned to CNN for continuing coverage of this story."

*****

Rogue couldn't remember the Blackbird ever flying so fast, including the time that they had gone to rescue Jean and Storm. They were flying low and would be in DC in minutes. Everyone was here, even the Professor, who was flying the huge jet. She only hoped they weren't too late.

She wrapped her arms around her torso and hugged herself as she watched the capitol city appear in the distance. She was worried about the fight. After all, Magneto was attacking the Capitol Building! Surely he had to know they were coming, which meant he was ready for them. Rogue was glad she had decided to add her new jacket to her uniform. It was comforting for her. It was still corny, but the jacket made her feel protected from the danger they were about to enter. 

The Blackbird landed on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. The X-Men were out and running towards the Capitol before the jet even touched the ground. Jean, Storm, and Rogue never even set foot on the ground. They simply jumped out of the Blackbird and began flying overhead of the rest of the team. Only Xavier stayed in the jet. He would keep the Blackbird in the air to keep people away from it. When the fight was over, he would pick everyone up and they would be gone as soon as possible.

The police and S.W.A.T. teams were completely circled around the Capitol and were keeping people as far away as they could. It wasn't worth trying to explain to some rookie cop why they were there, so Jean lifted all of the X-Men over the crowd and lowered them back to the ground on the other side of the barricade. Screams could be heard from the crowd and calls to "freeze" were shouted by the police, but there was nothing they could do. Finally, some officer started shooting. Jean put up a shield and protected everyone from the oncoming bullets. Eventually, the police saw the uselessness of firing their guns and so they just lowered them and watched the mutants get closer to the building than any of their men had been able to get yet. It wasn't long before the X-Men were on the steps to the Capitol, where they came face to face with Pyro and Colossus.

"Hiya mates! I'll need to see some ID if ya wanna get through," said Pyro with glee. The four scorched bodies lying at the base of the stairs suggested it wasn't the first time he had said that.

Gambit reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a card. "Got it right here," he said with a smirk as he let it fly at the fire-loving mutant.

Pyro jumped out of the way and landed on his feet a few stairs above his previous position. Soon, the flames from the small explosion rose into the air above everyone and formed a huge fiery anvil in the sky. The X-Men all jumped for cover as Pyro let it fall to the ground and smash into the concrete steps.

Cyclops took advantage of the resulting confusion to organize his group. "Jean, you, Rogue and Kitty try to find another way in over there!" he ordered with a finger pointed to his left. "Gambit, you and Wolverine head over there!" Now pointing to his right. "Kurt, Storm, and I will stay here and break through this entrance! Regroup inside!"

The X-Men nodded and took off in their respective directions. Gambit turned his head as he ran and gave a nod to Colossus. It hurt both of them to be on opposite sides of this fight, but both understood that things had to be this way. Colossus, though, had no intention of fighting against the X-Men today. He stood still as a statue, and looked like one as well thanks to his metal skin. Pyro, he knew, was too busy to notice that he wasn't joining the fight.

Once they were gone, Storm rose into the air and gathered a mist that settled on everything around the remaining X-Men and two Acolytes, killing the lapping flames. Once the flames died down, she began to lower back to the ground and kept the mist hanging in the air, just as she had done in Chicago. Pyro looked up at the weather witch with a smile.

"Not this time. I've been practicing. And now, you can't…" He threw his arms forward violently, sending flames everywhere. "…STOP ME!"

The X-men were again forced to dodge Pyro's attacks as Storm allowed the rain to begin pouring down. Icy winds blew across the area as Storm did her best to snuff the fire out. Nothing was working.

"Nightcrawler! Kill his source!" yelled Cyclops as he shielded his face from the warmth of the flames. 

Nightcrawler nodded his understanding and teleported behind Pyro. He jumped on the Australian's back and grabbed the cords running from his pack down his arms that provided fuel for the flames coming from his hands. He gave the man a kick forward and sent him tumbling down the stairs. The cords snapped in Nightcrawler's grip and fuel spilled across the ground. 

Pyro stood up slowly, still smiling. "It's not that easy," he said menacingly. He raised his arms over his head slowly. "I told you I've been practicing."

Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Storm looked up in horror. What could he be talking about? Soon, they had their answer. The Sun grew brighter and brighter in the sky above them. They realized what was happening just in time and dove away at the last second. When they looked up, Pyro was engulfed in flames that stretched up into the sky in two columns that swirled above his head like a strand of DNA. He began walking down the stairs towards the three X-Men.

"I've amped my powers up a bit. Can't you tell?" he boasted with a laugh.

Suddenly, Cyclops felt a strange sensation in his eyes. They were stinging, burning even! He looked again at Pyro and realized what was happening. His blasts were powered by solar energy and Pyro was currently surrounded in fire coming straight from the Sun. The sudden proximity and surge of solar energy was making Cyclops' blasts ten times as powerful as normal! He turned his head to look straight at Pyro, a red trail following his movement as the Ruby Quartz began to give way to the sudden sheer force of his blasts.

"You mates might as well give up now," said Pyro, not understanding what was about to happen.

"We could," said Cyclops as he braced himself on his knees. "But you're not the only one with new powers!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, simultaneously ripping his visor off and attacking Pyro with his full, unbridled force. 

Pyro screamed as the blast literally knocked him into the air. Cyclops closed his eyes quickly, afraid of killing the insane enemy. He would only fire short blasts at him. He just hoped Nightcrawler or Storm would think to tell him where to turn his head for the next one.

But Pyro's screams didn't die when he hit the ground. His body landed on the stairs, flames still surrounding it, and bounced before rolling down a few steps. His body twisted and contorted in pain and the screams only got louder. Soon, it became clear that the flames were not merely surrounding his body. They were actually consuming it! The blast from Cyclops had caused him to lose his concentration momentarily, meaning the flames were allowed to catch his suit on fire. When he hit the steps, the pain was too much for him and he lost all his concentration completely, meaning the fire had settled on his body and Pyro was now being burnt alive on the steps of the Capitol!

When Storm realized what was happening, she brought a quick rain cloud down to kill the flames. But it was too late. Pyro had been burnt too badly and was now gasping for breath as his scorched body lay still on the steps. He made one last audible gasp, and then it was silent. Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus merely stared at the grotesque sight. They couldn't believe what had just happened!

With the Sun fire gone, Cyclops powers were back to normal. He replaced his visor and looked up at the metal Russian man behind where Pyro had been standing.

"You're turn, Tin Man!" he yelled, not yet realizing what had just happened to Pyro.

Colossus walked down to the three X-Men slowly and calmly. He raised his hand to show he meant no harm.

"Strange as it may be, he deserved that," said Colossus, motioning towards Pyro's body. "He's killed many men in the same way that he just died. I don't hold it against you."

Cyclops looked around in confusion. Then he saw Pyro's body and realized what he had done. He silently looked up at Kurt in shock.

"Don't vorry, my friend. It vasn't your vault. Vith a power like zat, it had to be done."

Scott nodded his head slowly. Kurt was right. If he was that powerful, then he had to die. And besides, Scott hadn't been trying to kill him. It just happened. He took a deep breath and decided not to let this incident bother him. If he hadn't done it, someone else would have had to.

Colossus continued talking. "I may be on a different team, but you should know that I'm on your side. Magneto must be stopped. Unfortunately, I cannot fight with you. All I can do is let you pass. Now go quickly!"

"Vhy can't you fight?" asked Nightcrawler.

"It's a long story, but he'd kill my family if he knew I helped you. Now go! The longer you stay here, the more Congressmen will die!"

Storm looked at Cyclops at this news and the three X-Men thanked Colossus quickly before rushing through the doors and into the building. The metal giant turned his head to look at Pyro's body one last time before he followed them inside.

*****

Gambit and Wolverine ran around the side of the building until they found a small security entrance, guarded by none other than Toad and Avalanche.

"Outta de way, boys," said Remy, one hand pulling a couple cards from his pocket.

"Sorry traitor," smirked Lance, "but we're not goin' anywhere."

Wolverine extended his claws out as he stepped closer to the two boys.

"Listen bubs, this is bigger than the two o' you. Now I'm not in a forgivin' mood so I suggest ya get out of our way or else you'll find out how much damage these things really do," he said, holding his right hand up so that his claws were just centimeters from Avalanche's face.

Toad gulped, but stood his ground. Lance shot a nervous look back at the younger teen, then turned a confident gaze back to Wolverine. 

"Then let's see the show, old man."

Wolverine growled and took a quick swipe at Lance's head, which the boy ducked at the last second. The older mutant was about to bring his other hand up in an uppercut, but was stopped by a rumbling beneath him. He immediately jumped back as a hole opened in the earth beneath the spot he had just been standing on.

Gambit watched in awe as he realized how much training Lance must have put in to be able to pull something like that. He knew the Brotherhood well enough to know they would never train that much without being forced to. Magneto must have been making all of his followers train constantly, and the effects were impressive. Lance had just caused a small hole to form in the ground while ducking at the same time! He hadn't put his hands out in front of him. His eyes hadn't rolled back. Gambit smiled. This should be a good fight.

Toad hopped onto Gambit's back and wrapped his arms around his neck. Gambit was pulled backwards by the unexpected weight, but he managed to stay on his feet. He tried to pull the arms away from his neck, but Toad had a strong grip on him.

"Give up, yo. It's not like you can win anyways. Magneto's planned everything perfectly. You guys are gonna lose no matter what."

"Ungh, I t'ink not, mon frere."

Gambit reached his hand up and grabbed Toad's sleeve. Toad just watched in amusement…until the sleeve started glowing. 

"Whoa! What the?!"

Toad gave Gambit a kick in his back and jumped off of him, sending Gambit flying a few yards forward. Toad ripped his shirt off quickly and tossed it on the ground as he hopped away. The shirt blew up as soon as it hit the ground.

"That wasn't fair, yo!" yelled Toad as he tried to regain his breath. "You almost killed me!"

Gambit jumped back to his feet and smirked at Toad as he rubbed his sore neck with one hand. The other hand was behind his back and inside his coat.

"De Golden Rule, mon frere. De Golden Rule."

Toad jumped towards Gambit menacingly. The Cajun pulled up his fist, which was secretly holding his extendible pole, into the air quickly. As he brought it back down, he punched a small button on the metal pole. It extended and smacked Toad to the concrete, unconscious.

"Didn't I ever teach ya not ta turn yer back on de enemy?" he said to the motionless Toad.

Throughout all this, Wolverine had been trying to get close to Avalanche again. Unfortunately, pillars of earth kept popping up in his way.

Wolverine growled out of frustration and loud enough to pull Gambit out of his victory daze. The gloating Cajun looked over to see his friend's troubles and pulled out another card. He charged it and let it sail towards Avalanche. It landed at the boy's feet and knocked him to the ground a few feet away. This allowed enough time for Wolverine to get close to Lance. He picked the boy up by his shirt and held him close enough that their noses nearly touched. 

"You should've moved," growled Wolverine. He threw Lance into the locked security door hard enough that the hinges gave way. Lance fell through the door and into the building. 

"Let's go," said Wolverine.

Gambit followed him inside the building, stepping over Lance's body in the process, and they began making their way through the brightly decorated halls and into the heart of the Capitol.

*****

Jean, Rogue, and Kitty went around the building the opposite direction of Gambit and Wolverine, but they didn't find any door there. They continued around to the back of the building where they found Blob and Quiksilver guarding the final entrance.

"Hey! What-took-ya-so-long-to-find-us?" asked Pietro as he stood up.

The three girls ignored him.

"Beat it, Pietro!" yelled Rogue.

"Hm,-No-thanks. I-think-I'll-stay-right-here,-right-between-you-and-this-door."

Rogue rose into the air and flew up the steps so that she was face to face with the speed demon.

"Ah said beat it!"

Quiksilver smirked. "C'mon! You-guys-think-I-don't-know-about-little-miss-redhead's-levitating-powers? You-can't-scare-me-with-that."

Rogue smiled back at him. "Jean didn't do it. Ah did. Ah'm a lot stronger than Ah used ta be. Now you got one last chance ta move 'fore Ah start poundin' you outta our way."

Pietro stepped back to stand next to Blob, who hadn't quite understood what Rogue had just said.

"Since-when-can-you-fly?!"

"It's just a li'l trick Ah picked up recently, and it's not all Ah can do."

Rogue was standing next to a concrete wall that stood as a retainer to prevent people from falling off the platform she stood on. She raised her fist into the air and punched straight through the wall, sending an explosion of concrete falling to the ground ten feet below. Pietro's smirk was gone. Blob just watched with a passive look. If he was impressed, he didn't show it.

"Big deal," he said. "I can do that!"

"Then bring it on, sugah!"

Blob charged at Rogue with a roar and lunged at her. The girl wasn't quite expecting him to jump at her like that and she failed to get out of the way. They fell through the retainer wall and straight to the ground with Blob lying on top of Rogue. Once they hit the ground, Rogue pushed him off of her and tossed his body a couple yards away. Soon, they were both up and ready to fight.

Pietro grinned as he watched the two young mutants go at it. Then he turned to face Jean and Kitty. The two girls didn't wait for him to say anything. They just charged up the stairs and ran towards him. Kitty ran to him to try and phase him partly into the platform. Jean was just trying to slow him down. So far, he was managing to avoid every attack.

Rogue and Blob exchanged punches back and forth with each other for a while. Rogue's hits didn't seem to faze the gigantic mutant at all. Unfortunately, Blob's blows to Rogue were doing more damage. Another part of her new powers that Rogue was just learning about was that her skin was now much more resistant to pressure. The punch through the concrete hadn't hurt at all and Blob's punches, though they hurt, were not causing any noticeable damage to her body.

Blob landed a punch on her chin that sent Rogue flying back into the retainer wall again. She stood up slowly and shook the loose concrete out of her hair. When she looked up, Blob was running straight at her! She kicked off the ground, but he grabbed her ankle and threw her back to the earth. She was looking straight up at Blob's fist, raised over the boy's head. She watched as it began to fall down towards her face. At the last second, Rogue swung her legs around and knocked Blob's legs out from under him. When he was on the ground, she flew into the air about twenty feet, then slammed back down onto Blob's head as hard as she could, landing her feet on his head. At this point, her only hope was to knock him out.

She jumped into the air again, this time rising to about 50 feet before slamming down onto Blob's face again. This time, his head broke through the ground a few inches. Rogue rose into the air one more time, but stopped when she realized Blob wasn't moving. She flew back down to his side and checked to make sure he was okay. One look at him told her he was just unconscious. She turned her attention up the platform above her, where Jean and Shadowcat were having a hard time dealing with Quiksilver.

"Jean! Slow him down!" yelled Shadowcat in frustration.

"I'm trying, Kitty! He's too fast though. It's hard to get a grip on his feet."

"Oh! So-I'm-too-fast-for-ya,-huh? Not-too-surprising. I-am-the-best-after-all!"

Pietro was running in straight lines back and forth across the platform. He was getting great joy in running past Kitty over and over again. Each time he passed by, she would try to grab him, but he was simply too fast for her. He passed her again and turned his head over his shoulders to watch the frustrated girl stomp her feet with a huff. 

"This-is-too-easy!" he called out tauntingly. 

He turned his head back in front of him and prepared to zip by Kitty again. But when his gaze returned to his front, there was a surprise waiting for him. Rogue was standing in his path with her right fist raised in the air. Quiksilver tried to stop, but he was going too fast. Rogue threw the fist forward and landed a huge punch right on Pietro's nose, breaking it instantly and sending a steady stream of blood over the boy's face. Pietro flew backwards about ten feet, then hit the ground and slid another two or three yards before skidding to a halt just past where Kitty was standing. 

"Whoa! Like, nice punch!" 

Rogue shook her hand back and forth as she looked up at Kitty's impressed smile. "Thanks."

*****

Gambit and Wolverine charged down the elaborate hallway as fast as they could. They turned a corner, the seventh one they had come to, and found yet another hallway! 

"Dis place is like a maze!" said Gambit in disbelief.

"Just keep yer eyes open for anythin' suspicious. And if ya see a hall that says somethin' like "no one allowed beyond this point," that's where we're headed."

The two took off again down the hallway and came to a huge staircase.

"Looks like our ticket, mon ami."

"Let's hope so, kid."

They ran up the stairs and found themselves in a slightly less elaborate hallway with huge paintings on the walls. They simply exchanged annoyed looks before running down the hall. The corridor eventually came to an end at an intersection with another hall that ran perpendicular to it.

"How convenient," mumbled Wolverine. "Well, you go that way," he said pointing to the right. "I'll head this way."

"An' if I find somet'in'?" 

"You got a communicator. Let us know."

"Alright. Good luck, mon ami."

"Yeah, same ta you."

The two mutants split and ran off in opposite directions. Wolverine ran and turned the first corner, where he wasn't surprised to find yet another long hallway with ornate statues along the walls.

"Who designed this place?"

He slowed down to a walk as he passed the statues, each with a small plaque on the base attributing them to a different state of the union. Finally, he came to a dead end, except for another staircase that led back to the ground level. Wolverine sighed and descended the stairs. He looked out the window and could see that he was now against the back wall of the building. At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and his eyes opened wide. Jean was lying on the floor against a wall with a small pool of blood around her! Wolverine ran over to her and knelt by Jean's side.

"Red! What happened?!"

Jean looked up at him, a distant look in her eye. "Logan, help me. Pietro attacked me. He stabbed me, then ran after Rogue."

"It's okay, Jean. Yer gonna be fine. C'mon. I'm getting' ya back ta the Blackbird."

Logan put her arm over his shoulder and lifted her off her feet. He looked around and found that they were just inside the back door of the building. He carried Jean through the door and began going down the steps there. Suddenly though, something caught the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Pietro sprawled across the ground with blood running from his face. He started to ask Jean what was going on, but was stopped by a horrendous pain that started between his shoulders and quickly spread around his whole body! He dropped Jean and growled as the pain overtook him. Then everything went black.

Jean stood up over the limp form of Wolverine and began laughing. Slowly, the face morphed into that of Mystique as she put the stun gun back in her pocket. She picked Wolverine up over her shoulder as he had just done with her, then carried him down the steps.

*****

"Hurry up! It's right this way!" called Colossus to Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler as they made their way through the various corridors of the building. They stopped when they reached a set of stairs.

"Go right up these stairs and you'll find a wooden door," said Colossus almost in a whisper. "That door leads to the balcony of the House of Representatives. That's where Magneto is holding the Congressmen."

"Thank you for your help," said Storm as she placed a hand on the metal man's shoulder. "It's good to know that Magneto has not passed his hate on to you."

"I have plenty of hate, but it is all reserved for him," said Colossus morbidly. "But if I join this fight, my family will die. You have to stop him!"

"We will," said Scott as he turned his head up the stairs. "Storm. Nightcrawler. Let's go!"

With that, the three X-Men ran up the stairs and found the wooden door just as Colossus had said. Scott turned around to face his teammates with a plan.

"We wait for the others to get here. Then we all attack at once."

"Agreed," said Nightcrawler.

Scott grabbed his comm., but another voice came out of the small device before he had a chance to speak.

"I found de room," said Gambit's voice. "It looks like de best way in is t'rough de balcony. Dere's wooden doors up here so Mags can't keep 'em shut wit' his powers."

Just as Gambit finished speaking, he turned the corner and found himself face to face with Scott, Kurt, and Storm. 

"Well hello, mon amis."

The three nodded at him while Scott pulled his comm. to his face. "Kurt, Storm, and I are already here with Gambit. We're waiting for the rest of you."

"Got it, we're on our way," said Kitty's voice in reply.

"Where's Wolverine?" asked Scott, looking at Gambit. 

"We split up. He oughta be here any minute now."

Finally, Wolverine's voice came over the comm. 

"I'm on my way. Don't go in without me."

*****

Jean, Kitty, and Rogue followed the directions from the other X-Men until they made it to the hallway where they all rendezvoused. 

"Anybody seen Logan?" asked Kurt once the three girls arrived.

"No, not at all," said Jean.

"Give 'im time. He'll be here soon enough," said Gambit.

"We don't have a lot of time left," answered Scott in a frustrated tone.

Finally, Wolverine appeared ascending the steps that Scott, Kurt, and Storm had just climbed minutes before. 

"Alright. I'm here. We ready ta go?"

"We're past ready," said Scott with a frown. "Now there are six doors up here that lead into the balcony. Split into 4 pairs, find a door, and get ready to burst through and attack on my signal."

Everyone nodded as they paired off and left in search of a door. Scott and Kurt stayed at the door they were already at and waited just a quick moment. Finally, Scott grabbed his comm. and raised it to his mouth.

"2. 1. Go!"

*****

"So you see, Congressmen, that I am the future. No matter what trivial laws you may pass, my kind and I cannot be stopped! We will one day rule the Earth and you will be but a faded memory."

Magneto was standing at the front podium of the House and giving a speech to his captive audience, being held in their seats by metal straps over their shoulders. News cameras that were left permanently posted in the room by various news stations were filming the speech. Everything was being caught on film. But he really couldn't wait for the next part of his plan to come. That would be on film too, and it would be a very interesting tape to say the least. After he finished his speech, he would commence in killing every last politician in the building. The evening news would just love this!

He wound down the speech to a close as he summed up his case for mutant superiority. Then he raised his arms and levitated into the air. 

"Change is coming! And that change will forever alter the course of human history. Slowly, the world that you all know will crumble. The pillars of the world will fall like dust. And the first pillar to go," he grinned with malice as he paused and listened to the deafening silence in the room, "will be the United States of America. Today, the world's most powerful country comes to an end."

With that, he lifted his arms and every piece of metal in the room rose into the air. Beams broke through the walls. Support rods broke free of their places under the balcony. Nails flew from their holes. The badges and guns lifted from the bodies of the guards that Magneto had killed when he first entered the room. A storm of metal hovered overhead and threatened to crash down at any moment. 

"Goodbye Congressmen!"

Before Magneto was able to deliver the fatal blows, however, the balcony doors rushed open and 8 people flew through them. The X-Men jumped, flew, ported, and phased their way from the balcony to the floor of the House and began rushing to the front. 

Cyclops sent a blast firing at Magneto and delivered a direct hit to the man's chest, knocking him from the air. 

"It's over, Magneto!"

Magneto looked at Cyclops with rage, and a little fear, in his eyes, though no one could actually see his face due to the helmet. What was _he_ doing here?! He should have been taken care of by now!

The older mutant returned to the air and smiled at the X-Men, refusing to let them see his worry. 

"This is far from over, Summers!"

He threw his arms forward and pieces of metal flew down straight at the various mutants on the floor. Each of them jumped and dodged the oncoming assault of metal. But for each piece they avoided, three more flew at them!

Jean used her mind to hold the scrap away from her. Cyclops was busy blasting the pieces apart. Nightcrawler and Shadowcat were simply dodging all the attacks. Gambit was using the force of his exploding cards to keep the metal from hitting him. Storm gathered up the wind to blow the metal back towards Magneto.

Rogue jumped into the air, grabbed a large chunk of metal that had been flying at her, and tossed it at Magneto, who was looking the other way. The chunk flew straight at the man, but he felt it coming and knocked it away at the last second.

Meanwhile, "Wolverine" was trying "his" hardest to get close to Cyclops. Mystique was most annoyed that she had let the boy fight for so long. She knew that he had to be stopped and it had to happen now. But Magneto's attacks were pointed at her as well as the X-Men. Finally, she morphed into her true form so that Magneto would leave her alone. Once she was her blue self again, the metal stopped flying at her and it was much easier to move across the room and get close to Scott, who was quite busy blasting away at the flying metal. Once she was close enough, Mystique jumped up behind the boy and brought her foot down on the back of his neck. Scott groaned and slumped to the ground with a thud. Mystique grabbed his body and dragged it out the door without being seen by the rest of the X-Men.

The screams from the Congressmen were loud. Louder even than the explosions of Gambit's cards and the constant "bamfs" of Kurt's teleportation. Louder even than the metal crashing into the ground around them. It was clear Magneto was intentionally saving the Congressmen, who were still strapped to their seats. Every piece of metal that hit the floor did so in an area where no one was around so that the Congressmen wouldn't be killed before he was ready for them to die.

Kurt ported and found himself directly above Magneto. He dropped onto the man's back and pulled him down to the ground. Rogue saw him fall and flew over to help.

"Kurt! Get outta the way!"

Kurt looked up and saw Rogue flying straight for him. He ported to the balcony and watched as Rogue landed a punch to Magneto's chin, sending him flying across the room. This caused all the flying metal to suddenly fall from the air. Jean quickly closed her eyes and tried to catch the pieces of scrap before they crushed the Congressmen. Slowly, she let the pieces land on the ground in the back of the room where there was no one to crush. 

Gambit jumped over one of the metal beams to check on Magneto. He pulled the helmet off the man's head and found him unconscious. He smiled as he jumped to his feet and peered out at his teammates. 

"We got 'im! He's out for de count!"

The X-Men all breathed a sigh of relief as Rogue flew over to make sure Gambit was right. 

"Nice punch, cherie."

Rogue smiled as she realized that she had just beaten Magneto!

"Thanks. Ah thought it'd be a lot harder than…"

She was interrupted by a loud rumbling above them. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the ceiling, small pieces of which were crumbling and falling to the ground. Jean realized what was happening first.

"Everybody out! The ceiling's caving in!"

"What happened?" yelled Rogue.

"Magneto pulled out all the support beams and now it's falling in on top of itself!" answered Jean.

Hundreds of screams and shrieks emitted from the crowd of politicians as they pulled the metal straps off of their shoulders and clamored to get out of the building. Kurt began grabbing as many Congressmen as he could at once and porting them out of the room, only to return for more. Jean focused all her energy on holding the roof up as long as she could. Rogue grabbed Magneto and flew him out of the building before returning to help Gambit, Kitty, and Storm lead the terrified Congressmen out the doors. Once the last of the people were out of the room, Jean flew through the door and let the ceiling collapse behind her. The noise was incredible as concrete and plaster fell to the ground inside the regal government chamber. Sparks flew from the wiring as everything fell in on top of itself. 

The X-Men were the last people out of the Capitol Building. There was a huge mob of reporters, police, secret service, and awed civilians yelling and screaming as the entire building began to fall. The outer walls crumbled and finally the dome began leaning to the right before crumbling and falling into the building it had once capped. Soon, the Capitol Building was gone and all that remained were the stairs that led to where there had once been a door.

Not looking to answer any more questions than they had to, the X-Men left the scene. Rogue and Storm simply flew into the air. Jean used her powers to levitate herself and the other X-Men over the crowd of reporters and Congressmen until they reached the Blackbird, where Professor Xavier was waiting on them. They hurried into the jet and strapped themselves in their seats quickly.

"Let's go, Professor!" said Rogue. "Ah don't think we're gonna be very popular around here."

"Where are Scott and Logan?" asked Xavier.

The X-Men looked around in shock. In the confusion, no one had realized they were missing!

"We can't leave without them!" said Xavier.

"I zink we are going to have to!" said Kurt, pointing through the cockpit window. The National Guard had arrived and they currently had a tank pointed at the Blackbird!

Xavier rose the jet into the air as fast as he could and took off for home, narrowly missing a shell from the huge war machine. Wherever Scott and Logan were, they would have to find their own way home. It was too dangerous for the X-Men to stick around any longer.

*****

Since the beginning of the attack on the Capitol, the President had been hidden in an underground bunker beneath the White House. He was currently surrounded by armed guards just in case anyone tried to get close to him. Of course, no one could get within 100 yards of him in the bunker. They would first have to get through a dozen different gates and then fight their way through nearly the entire secret service!

It was quiet in the bunker. No one spoke. No one moved. Everyone prayed for the men and women being held captive by that monster in the Capitol. Finally, the noise of a radio broke the silence. 

"General, this is Gate 1. There's a Sgt. Meredith here who says he's cleared to pass. Permission to let him through?"

General Clark knew Meredith as his most trusted friend in the force. If he was here, it must be because the siege of the Capitol was over and he was delivering the news.

"Let him through, officer."

The same conversation came eleven more times as Meredith passed through each gate. Finally, Meredith entered through the metal door and into the room that housed Clark, the President, and about 26 armed servicemen. 

"What's the news, John?" asked Clark.

"Not good, sir. They've taken the Capitol. It's over. Everyone is dead."

The room was deathly silent. The President slumped over in his chair in despair. The Congress was gone! They had all been killed by terrorists! He made a silent vow to put a stop to the mutants in his country. He had been too lenient before. Now it was time to fix his mistakes.

"Thank you, John," said Clark, his jaw clenched and his eyes refusing to show emotion. 

"There's one more thing."

Clark and the President all looked up in horror. What else could be wrong?

Sgt. Meredith raised his arms up with an uzi in each hand.

"Sgt. Meredith is dead."

He squeezed the triggers as he pulled his arms in sweeping arcs around his entire body, making a circle around himself. The constant gunfire drowned the screams of the agents as flying lead ripped through their bodies. When the clips emptied, only two people in the room were still alive. One was the President. The other was a mystery.

He stepped closer to the leader of the free world as he dropped the guns to the floor. The President watched in horror as Sgt. Meredith slowly turned into a woman with blue skin and black clothes.

"Who the devil are you?!" screamed the terrified man.

The blue lady stood up straight directly above him. The President cowered on the floor below her towering frame.

"Most people don't pray to the devil just before they die, Mr. President."

After one swift movement, the President lay dead with a knife in his heart.

Mystique turned around and walked back through the door. She returned through each gate again, this time in her true form. There was no need to disguise herself. All the men at the gates were dead.

Now she just had one more matter of business to attend to.


	23. Lost in the Woods

****

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially near the end of this fic. Including this chapter, there are only 3 chapters left. Don't worry though. There's still plenty of story left to come. The next chapter will probably be really long. I doubt it's as long as the last one, but long nonetheless. Anyway, this chapter is one of those chapters that I've been looking forward to since the very beginning of the fic. Enjoy!

-------------------------------

Scott awoke to a stiff neck and a sharp pain in the back of his head. He slowly sat up with a groan and put a hand to his face to feel for his visor before opening his eyes. He looked around slowly and didn't recognize his surroundings. He was outside in some sort of forest. The birds were chirping loudly, which didn't help his throbbing head. It looked like morning and the grass around him was indeed wet with dew. He had absolutely no idea where he was.

"Yer up," said the gruff voice of Logan from behind him. 

Scott turned around and saw the man, still in his Wolverine uniform, sitting on a rock about ten feet away.

"Where are we?"

"Don't know, but I'd rather be someplace else."

Scott stood up slowly and walked over to Wolverine. 

"What happened? The last thing I remember, we were inside the Capitol fighting Magneto."

"We? I don't remember fightin' Buckethead."

Scott thought back for a second. He could see Magneto floating over the podium. A metal beam circled around as it hurtled towards him. He blasted it into the wall and looked for Jean to make sure she was okay. As he scanned the room, he saw Wolverine running in his direction, leaping over chunks of metal with his claws out.

"Yeah, you were there."

Wolverine frowned. "I never saw Magneto and definitely didn't fight him. Mystique got me. She looked like Jean, but it must've been Mystique. Ya must've seen her impersonatin' me."

It took a moment for Scott to digest this information. His head was still ringing and he was having trouble focusing on Logan's words.

"Why would Mystique attack you and me and then leave us here in the woods with each other?"

"She didn't leave us with each other. I woke up a few hours ago 'bout 5 miles east. I followed yer smell 'til I got here."

"Okay, so why would Mystique attack us and leave us in the woods then?"

Logan shook his head as he stared forward. "I don't know. You an' me are the only ones here. I'd know if there was someone else by the smell."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as the two men tried to sort the information out. Finally, Scott spoke up.

"How long have we been here?"

"Hard to say. After she knocked us out she must've drugged us. She had to have drugged me 'cause I didn't wake up 'til after dark. I should've woken up naturally just thirty minutes or so after gettin' knocked out."

"Well it was early afternoon when we went in the Capitol so that means I was out at least 15 or 16 hours."

"Yeah. Sun looks like it's about 7:30 now, so that's 'bout right."

They began to fall back into another silence, but Logan avoided it by handing Scott a twig with some berries on it.

"Here. Ya hungry?"

Scott eyed him suspiciously. "Are those safe?"

"Sure they are."

"You sure? I thought most berries were poisonous."

"I ate 'em an' I'm fine."

Scott gave him an annoyed look. "Says the guy with the advanced immune system."

Logan smiled. "You'll be fine. Just eat 'em."

Scott shrugged as he picked up the berries and popped a few in his mouth. They tasted okay.

"So how do we get home?" asked Scott between bites.

"We walk 'til we find a road. Then we find out where we are and get directions."

"Sounds like a plan. You ready to go?"

"If you are."

"Then let's do it."

The two mutant men stood up and began walking through the woods, pushing brush out of their way as they went. It was a little disheartening that there were no obvious trails to follow. Just how far away from civilization were they? And more importantly, just how were they supposed to survive each other's company? These were, after all, two guys who definitely did not get along!

Nearby, a small fox with yellow eyes began moving behind them.

*****

When it was nearly dark again, they found a good place to stop and cleared an area for a fire. Scott gathered wood and stacked it up while Logan tracked down a deer that he smelled just before they stopped. Scott sat and waited for him to get back once he had gathered plenty of firewood and built a large stack. Just how he was supposed to light it, he hadn't quite figured out.

He reflected on the past few months while he waited on Logan to return. It had been 5 months since the drama with Jean had started up. 5 months since he had been friends with Logan. 5 months since the two had even held a civil conversation. In fact, it had been 5 months since he could remember having a conversation with Logan at all! He hated Logan for the strain he had put on his relationship with Jean…twice, but he could sense that Logan hated him more. In Danger Room sessions, he seemed to pick on Scott. He gave him impossible assignments. He had even challenged Scott's authority in front of the group countless times! Scott felt it was time for Logan to grow up and accept the facts. Jean was in love with him and nothing would ever change that.

A rustling in the brush pulled Scott out of his thoughts. He looked back and saw Logan walking towards him with a dead deer draped over his shoulders. He set the animal on the ground next to the firewood and picked up a rock the size of Scott's fist.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, but how do you plan on cooking that thing?"

Logan pointed to the wood. "Fire," he said sarcastically. Surely the kid was smarter than that!

Scott rolled his eyes. "And how do we start the fire?"

Logan tossed the rock into the air and caught it quickly. "Just watch." He knelt down next to the stack of wood and slipped the rock inside the stack along with some leaves. Then he put his fist down right next to the wood and extended his claws. The claws hit the rock, which caused a spark that lit the leaves, and eventually the wood, on fire.

"Oh," said Scott, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

They used some of the extra wood to build a makeshift rotisserie over the fire to cook the deer on. A few hours later, they enjoyed an impressively tasty venison meal.

Once they had eaten their fill, Scott lay down and went to sleep. Logan tried to do the same, but found it nearly impossible to sleep. There was too much going through his mind. Why had Mystique left them free in this forest? Why had she only taken the two of them? Why did he have to get stuck alone with Pinkeye in the woods?

The past five months had destroyed any semblance of a friendship that they had ever had. It had started as a feud for the affection of Jean, but over time it transformed. Now, Jean was only one of the many reasons Logan couldn't stand being around Scott. The main reason though was that Scott had emerged as the leader of the X-Men recently. When he was in high school, it made sense for Scott to be considered the leader. He was the oldest student and Logan expected the kids to look to him for leadership. But they had always seen Logan as the overall leader. He had always outranked Scott. Now Scott was a teacher, same as Logan. They had the same authority in the mansion, but Logan was the one in charge of battle tactics. He was the one who ran the Danger Room and he had more experience in battle. Logan was supposed to be the leader when they were caught in a fight. But in the last few fights, he had seen everyone turn to Scott for leadership, not Logan. In Cuba, it had been Scott who developed the plan. In Chicago, no one started moving toward battle until Scott gave the okay. And in Washington, just two days earlier, it had been Scott who gave everyone the orders to split up. It was growing painfully clearer to Logan that the X-Men all looked to Scott as the leader instead of him.

Logan closed his eyes and tried to wipe his mind clear before going to sleep.

*****

When Scott woke up the next morning, Logan had already woken up and gone into the woods to look for some water. Scott began playing with the fire, which Logan had kept alive during the night. Eventually, he stood up, stretched his arms out with a yawn, and trod off into the woods to relieve himself.

When he returned to the camp, he found Logan dropping what was left of the deer meat into the fire!

"What are you doing?!" asked Scott as he ran towards Logan in shock.

"Getting rid of this junk. It tasted awful last night."

"Are you crazy? That's all the food we have!"

"So find more."

"Find more? Why don't you do it if you're so convinced that last night's meal wasn't satisfactory!"

"I hunted last night. It's your turn."

"Oh right, and I guess I'll just kill it with my eyes, if the blast doesn't blow it up!"

"Whatever works for you, bub."

Scott just stared in anger and amazement as Logan dropped the last bit of meat into the fire. He sighed angrily and stomped off into the woods again.

Wolverine watched him go with a smile, then turned back and retreated to the woods in the opposite direction. Once it was safe, Mystique morphed back to her fox form.

*****

Scott didn't mention the incident to Wolverine for the rest of the day as they marched on in their mission to find a way home. When it started to get dark again, they stopped and Logan asked Scott to hand him the left over meat.

Scott stared at him in amazement. "What'd you say?"

"Give me what's left of the deer. We're gonna have it for dinner again."

Scott was now absolutely livid. "What are you talking about?! You burned all the meat this morning, remember?"

Wolverine stared at him for a moment and tried to comprehend what he had just heard. "Huh?"

"You threw all the meat in the fire this morning saying it wasn't any good." 

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're insane," shouted Scott.

A low growl sounded from Wolverine's throat. It was bad enough that the kid had lost their food. But to go so far as to make such a stupid excuse about it was infuriating. 

"Fine, we do this like yesterday. Build a fire and I'll find us somethin' ta eat."

"Fine," mumbled Scott.

Logan was back 30 minutes later with about 3 quail, which was not near enough to fill both of their stomachs. When it was gone, Scott looked up at Logan and frowned.

"Is that all you could find?"

The accusation made Logan's blood boil. "Sorry kid, but we covered a lot of ground today. There ain't as much food here as there was back there. So maybe if ya hadn't lost the food we already had, we'd be okay now."

"If _I _hadn't lost it?! You're the one who burned it all up!"

It took all of Logan's self-control to keep from pouncing on the kid right then and ripping his head off. But it wouldn't look good if he returned to the mansion alone.

"Listen up, Summers. It ain't a secret that we don't like each other, but don't ya think I would remember it if I burned the food? If yer gonna lie, at least come up with a good one."

Scott jumped to his feet in a rage. "And don't you think I would remember what I saw with my own eyes?! How can you sit there and accuse me of lying, or don't you have a conscience? Maybe you're actually more like a wolverine than I thought, a careless animal!"

Wolverine jumped up as well and looked down at Scott. "That's it, visor boy! This ends tonight! If you think you're so much better than me, then prove it!" His arms flew down in front of him and seemed to shoot the claws out of his knuckles. 

Scott put his hand to his visor and stood his ground against the intimidating Logan. "Fine! If that's how you want it, then that's how we'll have it!"

Logan watched Scott. One of them would have to make the first move and then it would be on and there would be no going back. His heightened senses kicked into high gear to warn him of Scott's eventual attack. He could smell Scott's rage in each breath. He could feel Scott's very movements on his skin. He could hear both of their hearts beating, offset so that one would always beat between the beats of the other. It was as if even their bodily functions refused to fall in line with one another. His hearing also detected Scott's breath inhaling and exhaling, taking deep breaths to get plenty of Oxygen in his blood.

It had gotten dark and the night happened to have a new moon, so the only light was that of the campfire shining an orange glow on the two men. The wind refused to blow and no animal stirred. Everything was silent save for the two men's breathing and their footsteps as they both planted their feet in the ground to prepare for the coming battle. 

Suddenly, a faint noise in the bushes distracted Logan. He turned his head to see what it was. As soon as he moved, Scott fired a blast directly into his chest that sent him flying across the clearing. Logan crashed into a tree, but quickly returned to his feet. His eyes now stayed on Scott, but his ears were trained on the sound he'd heard earlier. It was gone, but he knew what it had been. He'd heard it before. It was the sound of laughter, of a knowing laugh that told Logan one thing. All of this was a setup.

Scott charged Logan with a yell and fired another blast at him. Logan saw this one coming and rolled across the ground to avoid it. He stayed crouched low to the ground, ready to leap away at a moment's notice and ready to pounce in an attack if need be. But he continued to listen for the noise again the whole time. There was more going on here than either he or Scott were aware of, though he had a hunch as to what it was.

Scott watched Logan crouch next to the ground. He had never seen him fight like this. Normally, Logan's style was to get close to the enemy and tear them apart. Scott could remember watching him fight the soldiers in Cuba. He had taken them down one by one and never given any of them a chance to fight back. So why wasn't he doing the same here?

"Fight me!" yelled Scott. "Don't hold back! You challenged me! This is what you wanted, so don't back out now!"

Why couldn't the kid shut up?! Logan was trying to listen for a noise, any noise, that would tell him where to look. He had a hunch but he needed confirmation. But Scott's words distracted him. He looked up at the kid's angry face. If that's how he wanted it, then that's how he'd get it!

Logan lunged at Scott with his claws forward just as he had done to so many other opponents. Scott grabbed Logan's forearms, careful to avoid the claws, and rolled onto his back as he kicked Logan over his head and across the ground. Logan may have fought hundreds of different opponents before, but none had ever seen him fight as often as Scott had. This would be an interesting battle. It was a shame he couldn't enjoy it.

Scott fired another quick beam at him and Logan narrowly avoided taking another hit to the chest. The kid had deadly aim. As the beam crashed through the brush behind him, Wolverine heard the soft grunt of someone avoiding the attack. He turned his head and faintly saw a pair of yellow eyes in the darkness.

Mystique! He had his confirmation. Whatever had happened to the meat, it had been Mystique. She had followed them the whole time and set up everything, even this fight! Now the only problem Logan had was convincing Scott to stop fighting without letting Mystique know that he knew about her.

Another beam flew at Wolverine and he jumped into the air to avoid it. Unfortunately, Cyke had apparently chosen to send a barrage of beams at him. It took all of Logan's acrobatic skills to avoid the onslaught, but he landed safely on the ground and rolled to the left before being forced to leap into the air again. This time, he grabbed a low-hanging branch and swung himself higher into the air before falling back to the ground behind Scott and taking the younger mutant down with a fast sweeping kick that knocked Scott's legs out from under him. Cyclops fell on his back and found himself looking straight up at Logan, who was just opening his mouth to say something. Scott fired another beam straight up at his face, though, before Logan had time to pronounce one syllable. Whatever he had to say, Scott didn't care. This wouldn't end until one of them was either dead or injured.

The blast hit Logan in the jaw and knocked him about fifteen feet into the air. Scott stood up and watched Logan's body rise into the night sky. When he came back down, he landed on Scott's back and wrestled him quickly to the ground. 

"Listen, bub," whispered Logan into Scott's ear. "We got a problem."

"No!" shouted Scott as he broke Logan's hold on him and escaped to his feet. "Whatever reservations you have about this, you might as well forget 'em because you started this and now you're gonna finish it!"

Scott charged at him as fast as he could with a yell. Logan stood up and braced for the impact. Finally, Scott reached him and landed his right fist against Logan's chin. Scott looped his leg around one of Logan's legs, throwing the Canadian mutant's balance off, while Simultaneously grabbing Logan's right arm to ensure he didn't fall. With his free hand, Scott threw punch after punch at Logan's face and deflected the answering punches with his elbow. Finally, Scott deflected one last punch with his free hand as he raised the hand to his visor and attacked Logan with a vicious blast at nearly point-blank proximity. The force of the beam threw Logan over the campfire before he skidded to a stop yards away. 

Logan slowly stood up and turned back around to face Scott as he extended his claws again. He had retracted them so as to not seriously hurt Scott when they were so close. He began walking back towards the 19-year-old boy with an angry frown.

"Do you know how easily I could kill you?" he asked threateningly. "Have you considered that no matter what you do, you can never kill me?"

Scott listened to the words and his confidence began to melt. Logan was right. No matter what kind of attack Scott used, Logan would always heal. Scott, on the other hand, would not heal if Wolverine started slicing at him.

Logan was still coming towards him slowly. "Have you considered that maybe I've been holding back because I don't want to kill you? And don't get arrogant about that. It isn't that I wouldn't love to rip yer head off and throw it in that fire right now. I just don't wanna do that ta Jean. It'd hurt her too much and I could never live with myself for doin' that ta her."

They were now standing face to face just inches apart from each other. Scott was finally seeing how futile this fight was for him, but he refused to show any feelings of worry to Logan at this point. He stood like a statue and attempted to stare Logan down.

Logan reached up quickly, grabbed Scott's head, and pointed it to the ground while holding Scott's wrists together with his free hand. He knelt down so that their heads nearly touched. 

"Mystique set this up," he whispered as soft as he could. "She's in the woods right now. Don't let her know we know. I'm gonna let go. When I say 'come get me,' you fire a blast straight at me. Understand?"

"Ungh, got it," said Scott in a half groan, half whisper. Logan had quite a grip on his neck and wrists.

Finally, Logan let him go and they backed away from each other until they were about fifteen feet apart. Logan backed up nearly to the edge of the clearing and began moving along the brush. He listened and watched intently for any sign of Mystique.

"This ends tonight, Logan!" yelled Scott, playing along with the now fake fight.

"Yer right, Summers. It does end tonight, and it ends with yer fall!" He saw a flash of yellow and quickly moved towards it.

"Just one question for ya though," said Scott. "Would you rather be buried or burned when I'm done with you?"

Logan smirked. "Ya better burn me or else I'll be right back ta finish the job of killin' you!" He was almost in position. He took a few more steps and stopped. His claws unsheathed themselves as he glared at Scott. "All right, bub. You make the first move. Come an' get me!"

With that, Scott instantly sent an immensely powerful blast hurtling straight towards Logan. Logan waited, then jumped out of the way at the last second. He landed a few feet away on his feet and heard a quick cry of pain. He jumped up and ran towards the sound, as did Scott. Logan cleared the brush away with his claws and soon found a yellow-eyed fox lying on the ground. He raised his claws up and was just about to bring them down when the fox changed to a raven and flew straight up, narrowly escaping the blades. Scott fired a blast into the air and hit Mystique, knocking her back to the ground. 

"It's over, Mystique!" yelled Wolverine as the two men charged towards the large bird lying on the ground. 

Mystique let out a loud growl as she transformed into a huge lion. Scott fired another blast at her, but it flew just over her shoulder. Wolverine dove at her and sunk his right claws into the side of the lion. Mystique cried out in pain as she collapsed to the ground and slowly returned to her normal blue form. Logan grabbed her body and lifted her into the air so they were face to face.

"What's this about, Mystique? Why'd you bring us here?"

Mystique just groaned as her hand felt the side of her torso, where she was losing a lot of blood. 

"Logan, we'll get answers later. She needs medical help right now," said Scott.

Logan raised one hand to silence his fellow X-Man. "We'll get answers now. She can find a doctor on her own time." Logan's eyes narrowed as he turned back to Mystique. "Now I'll ask one more time. Why did you bring us here?"

"Why should I tell you?" asked Mystique, her voice slightly strained from pain and intimidation.

"Because if you don't," growled Wolverine, "you bleed to death in this clearing. Answer our questions and you get to find medical help."

There was a second's pause before Mystique spoke up. "Irene told us to keep the two of you out of the fight if we wanted to win."

"Why bring us here?"

"It's remote, miles from anywhere. No one would find you and we hoped you wouldn't find anyone else."

"Why set up the fight between us?"

Mystique grinned through her pain. She was clearly quite proud of this part. "Simple. I could've killed Cyclops, but not you. I set up the fight so that Cyclops would hurt you to the point that you were a little more helpless. Then I'd pop out, kill Cyclops, and then kill you."

Scott's blood ran cold as he listened to her nonchalantly talk of murdering him. He had never realized how much trouble they were actually in.

Logan was mad, to say the least. He stared deep into Mystique's eyes coldly. "I'm gonna let ya go now. Fly away and find someplace to fix that wound." He dropped her to the ground before she could reply.

Mystique looked up at Logan with a strange look on her face. "You're letting me live? Why?"

"We don't kill unless we have to. You oughtta know that by now. Not that I wouldn't love to watch you die, of course."

Mystique smiled and opened her mouth to mock the two men, but was cut off by Scott.

"Get out of here Mystique. Leave now before we change our mind. No one would ever have to know we let you bleed to death in the middle of the woods. And at this point, we'd both love to let you die."

Mystique looked at Scott's face for a moment, then apparently decided he was serious. She turned into a raven and flew into the sky, small drops of blood dripping from her side every now and then.

Scott turned to look at Logan once she was out of sight. "So how do we get home?"

Logan was watching the sky, his enhanced sight allowing him to watch Mystique fly away longer than Scott could. "Same way we'd already planned to."

*****

Three days later, Scott and Logan arrived at the secret entrance to the Mansion's underground bunkers. They went in and were immediately greeted by the rest of the X-Men, who had seen them coming on the surveillance monitors. Scott and Jean exchanged a long kiss while Logan explained to the Professor everything that had happened. 

"Well then," said the Professor when he had heard the whole story, "it seems Mystique has been quite busy lately."

Scott and Logan looked down at the wheelchair bound man in interest.

"What do you mean, Professor?" asked Scott.

The group was immediately silent. Scott and Logan looked around at their friends with worry. What had happened? What had they missed?

"What's wrong? Could we not stop Magneto?" asked Scott.

"No, we stopped Magneto," explained Xavier. "The Capitol Building was destroyed in the process, but we saved the lives of all the congressmen and everyone else in the building. But it seems while the battle inside the Capitol took place, Mystique was busy killing the President and the entire Secret Service."

Scott and Logan's jaws instantly dropped in pure shock. Surely they had misheard that. The President had been assassinated? And by Mystique?! That couldn't be right! They were both gripped with rage. They should have finished her off when they had the chance!

"So where does that leave our case?" asked Scott as the pieces began to fit together.

"We're not sure yet," answered the Professor. "As you know, Hank was already back in Oakland before we went to Washington. He tells me that we're still going to court, but our case looks much worse now. Mutants are not exactly a sympathetic group when there are radicals assassinating government leaders and destroying national landmarks."

"But there's gotta be somethin' we can do though, right Chuck?"

"I hope so, Logan. But at this point, I just don't know. Our lawyers have two months to prepare our case and then it will go to court. In the meantime, all we can do is wait and pray."


	24. Going to Court

****

A/N: Okay, this chapter was getting really long, so I cut it in half. As a result, this is not the next to last chapter. Once again, this chapter is the third from the end. At this point, everything gets pretty legal. As a small disclaimer, I just want to say that I don't know everything about how the Federal Court System works here in America. If I mess something up, please forgive me. With that said, enjoy!

-------------------------

Jake Roberts had been a lawyer with the ACLU for nine years now. He had started as a low-paid paralegal before he passed the bar. After that, he had been assigned to smalltime cases around the country. He had fought to protect the environment as well as America's minorities and had climbed the ladder in good time, but he had never gained the lofty heights he dreamed of. Someday he planned to be the top lawyer for the organization and run every detail of every case. And now, he finally had the chance to start moving in that direction.

__

Xavier v. USA would put him on the map if he won. Then again, if he lost, it would likely mean the end of his career. He was banking everything on this case including his family, which would likely break up in a divorce if he was fired or demoted back to a lower department. Mrs. Roberts was already giving him trouble about his salary as it was. Why he insisted on working with the ACLU and taking these worthless cases, she would never understand!

The truth was, nobody understood why he refused to work at some big firm. He certainly had the talent to go nearly wherever he wanted. When he graduated, he had offers from all the biggest firms in the country! So why was he settling for a mid-level job at the ACLU, an organization that was notorious for paying their lawyers a mere half of what they were worth? Whenever asked about it, Jake simply said he liked it there and changed the subject.

But when Jake had heard that the ACLU had filed suit against the United States over the Anti-Mutant Act, he was the first to sign up for the case. After waiting for so long, the case he had been waiting for had finally arrived. It was the case that would make him a star! He had persevered through the paperwork and red tape and found himself as the head lawyer on the case. He couldn't have been happier!

At least, he had been happy at the time. Now, he was nothing but nervous. The ruling would come soon and Jake was terrified. He had performed well in court, but so had the US Attorney, a 53-year-old legend named George Wilbanks who served his country as the best lawyer in the US Attorney's Office. He hadn't lost a case in thirty years. Jake was still a few months away from his thirtieth birthday!

And so everything in Jake's life had led him to this moment, where he sat in an uncomfortable chair wearing the nicest suit he owned and going over all his reasons to be there in his mind. Meanwhile, Hank McCoy, the mutant who was helping him with the case, paced back and forth across the small temporary office. Jake was still yet to figure out just what Hank's mutation was, but felt it would be impolite to ask.

"You mind not pacing like that?" he asked the large man.

Hank stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Jake with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Nervous?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, I've never had a case like this before."

"Relax. You did great."

"So did Wilbanks," said Jake with a frown. "What did I do to face George Wilbanks in my first big case?"

Hank smiled reassuringly at him. "It'll be fine, Jake. Stop second-guessing yourself."

Jake smiled back at him in response. He couldn't help but notice that as confident as Hank sounded, he had still been pacing back and forth in the office for the past hour and a half.

Finally, Jake's pager began buzzing on the desk. The two men looked at each other gravely. 

"Judge is back," said Jake, standing up to get his coat.

*****

"Mutants, as they are currently defined by the government's top scientists, are individuals with genetic flaws that give them incredible, and often dangerous, abilities," said Judge Rourk when the court had reassembled. "Many of them cannot control these abilities and have caused quite a bit of damage and even losses of life over the last few years. Since the Anti-Mutant Act passed, we have seen riot after riot across the country, as well as three orchestrated attacks on our government that have ended in the deaths of the President, two Congressmen, and dozens of American soldiers as well as private citizens. 

"But at the same time, mutants are people, not animals. They have emotions and relationships just like everyone else. And I am not convinced that every mutant is out to kill humans. I'm sure there are good mutants out there. But it is the bad ones who keep appearing on the evening news night after night.

"It is my opinion that America's mutants, at this point in time, are out of control. Two months ago they assassinated the President of the United States and attempted to kill the entire Congress as well. The Capitol Building, which was built during the early days of this country, is gone. Taxpayers are now forced to pay millions of dollars to rebuild and fix the damage inflicted by mutants. In light of these incidences, I cannot argue that mutants should not be restricted or controlled in any way. And so, I find in favor of the United States of America. It is the ruling of this court that the Anti-Mutant Act is constitutional and will remain in place."

The sound of the Judge's gavel was drowned out by the buzz of the crowd. Cheers sounded from the back of the courtroom as George Wilbanks shook hands heartily with everyone around him. Jake stood up slowly and retreated from the courtroom through a side door, where Hank was waiting in the hallway. They left the building quietly while the three young lawyers who made up their team went to field questions from the media. 

The two slipped into Jake's car and drove off silently. They were both still reeling from the Judge's words. They left Oakland and entered the California desert outside the city. Ordinarily, Jake would enjoy driving the Camry along empty highways as fast as could with no other traffic in his way. But tonight, he didn't even have the heart to open the windows and enjoy the dry, cool air. The shock was still sifting through his mind. After an hour of silence, Jake spoke up.

"We'll appeal. It's not over yet."

Hank looked at the man to his left. "We'll get 'em next time, Jake. This had to go to the Supreme Court anyway. Even if we'd won, they would have appealed."

Jake nodded. The words stung his heart. They were the final confirmation from another person that indeed, he had lost the case. This wasn't a nightmare and he wasn't about to wake up to find that he had actually won.

Hank looked back through the windshield and sighed as he pulled out a cell phone. "I suppose I should call Charles."

"Yeah."

"You want to speak to him?"

"No way."

"Fair enough." Hank flipped the phone open and put it to his face before giving the voice command to call the mansion.

"Tell him to come to DC though. I want him in the courtroom next time."

"Sure thing."

The phone only rang once before Charles answered. "Hi Hank."

"Hey Charles. Have you seen the TV?"

"Yes, we have. What happens now?"

"We appeal. We'll file it tomorrow and head to the Supreme Court in a couple months."

"Do you think we can win?"

Hank hesitated as he glanced at Jake through the corner of his eye. "It'll be tough. Losing here was big, but we can still win it. It's not over yet and Washington is a long way from Oakland."

"So you're not giving up hope then?"

"Not yet. Not until it's all over, Charles."

"Good. Is there anything you need?"

"Actually, yes. Jake wants you to come to DC with us."

"Me? Why me?"

"Charles, you're the client here. If you don't come to the Supreme Court proceedings then it looks like you don't really care about all this. That doesn't exactly help our case."

"Okay, I'll be there. When?"

"I'll let you know. In the meantime, just tell the kids that this isn't over."

"We will, Hank. Thank you."

Hank hung up the phone and laid it in the car's cupholder while he whispered to himself. "Don't thank me yet, Charles."

*****

The appeal was filed the next morning, a Friday. By Monday, Jake, Hank, and their team were in Washington. They rented a small office as close to the Supreme Court as they could get and began working. Soon, the trial date was set for August 6, two months away. 

After one month of nonstop research and planning, Jake was beginning to think he couldn't do it. Wilbanks was simply too good for him. He was considering handing the case over to a better lawyer who could win it. It was all just too overwhelming for him to handle anymore.

One night in mid July, he and Hank stayed late into the night at the office looking for a precedent, of which there was none. Finally, Jake crashed into his chair and admitted to Hank what he was thinking.

"Hank, what would you say if I told you I was leaving the case?"

Hank looked up in surprise. "I don't know. I suppose I'd ask why."

"Because I can't win. Because I don't have enough experience yet."

"You're not giving up on me, are you Jake?"

Jake sat back and thought for a second before answering. "No. I'm just thinking of giving the case to someone with more experience who can beat Wilbanks."

"Sounds like giving up to me," said Hank with a strange smile on his face.

"No, its just.I don't know if I can do this."

Hank sat down on the small couch in the office and looked at the man he had come to count as a friend over the last few months. "You can. Don't let the system wear you down."

"It's not the system, Hank. It's the pressure. I have to win this case. But if I can't win it, then I have to give it to someone who can."

The question that had been gnawing at Hank for months once again arose in his mind. He took a deep breath and decided to ask. "Jake, why are you doing this? Why did you take this case in the first place?"

"To get rich and famous. Why does any lawyer take a high-profile case?"

"You're lying," said Hank smugly. "There's something personal about this case for you. What is it?"

Jake sighed as he stood up and walked to his window. He looked out over the city and tried to come up with the right words. "I used to have a little brother named Brad. He was only two years younger than me and we were best friends as kids.

"When Brad turned thirteen, he started doing things nobody could explain. It started small. Machines would act strangely around him. The TV would flicker when he came in the room. The radio would suddenly turn on without being touched. Eventually, sparks of electricity started shooting out of his hands when he was mad. He didn't understand it. None of us did, really. The doctor couldn't figure it out. He said that Brad was absorbing too much static electricity. Over time, he started firing bolts of electricity out of his hands like lightning! That was when we started hearing about people called mutants. We would just hear little bits and pieces of mutant stories here and there around town. Most people didn't believe they really existed. But my family, we knew that Brad was a mutant. Mom and Dad got scared of him. They talked to him less and less. They stopped buying him the things he wanted. Of course, I still loved Brad. He was my brother, y'know? We were still best friends. Personally, I thought his powers were pretty cool.

"But on his sixteenth birthday, Mom and Dad decided they'd had enough. They took the family to Yosemite National Park for a vacation to celebrate his birthday. We had a great time for a few days, and then it was time to leave. My Dad sent me to the car with the luggage and told me to wait there. After a few minutes, Mom and Dad showed up, got in the car and drove away without Brad. They explained to me that Brad was a mutant and that meant he was bad. I don't know where they left him, but I never saw Brad again.

"Ever since then, I have never once felt any love for my parents. I hate them for what they did. Now I have a son and I can't imagine ever abandoning him somewhere to die like that! Anyway, I decided that I would change people's minds about mutants. I went to law school and found a job at the ACLU. I figured if anyone was gonna fight for mutants' rights, it'd be them. But I got there and found out that they didn't care about mutants at all! I tried to convince my bosses that we should be helping mutants, but they just shrugged me off. Then one day I heard about this case and I had to join it. I had made a promise to myself that I would make sure nobody ever did what my parents did to Brad." He turned around to look at Hank with small tears in his eyes. "That's why I'm here."

Hank sat in shock of the story he had just heard. Living in the Institute, he had heard all sorts of stories about human persecution of mutants, but he had never heard of parents simply abandoning their own children to die! He stood up and walked over to Jake, knowing full well that there was nothing he could say that would make up for the loss. 

"I know it doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry about your brother."

"Thanks," said Jake sincerely. He had never told anyone about Brad, not even his wife. It bothered him just to think about. He decided to change the subject. 

"Let me ask you something, Hank. I've just been curious about this since we met. What's your mutation?"

Hank smiled at him. "Did you notice that when we met, I didn't shake your hand?"

"Of course. I thought it was strange, but I didn't say anything."

"Well, my hand isn't exactly what you would have been expecting. You see this watch?" Hank raised his arm so Jake could get a good look at it.

"Yeah, it's a great watch. I've noticed it before. Why?"

"It's much more than just a watch. It's actually a very clever disguise." Hank pushed a button on the side of the watch and immediately turned into his normal furry blue form. "This is what I actually look like."

Jake jumped back in surprise. He had never dreamed that there were mutants with mutations like that! 

"I also have enhanced strength, but that would be fairly difficult to give an example of in these surroundings," said the Beast with a smile.

Jake stared at Hank in silence for a moment. It was a shock to see his friend so differently, but he was quickly growing more and more used to it. Somehow, he felt he shouldn't be so surprised.

"Have you always looked like this?"

"No, it's only happened recently. I appeared to be a normal person just as you've seen me up until three years ago. I used a serum to keep my mutation at bay. But I'd rather not get into that right now."

"That's fine. So you live in a house with all mutants, right?"

"Yes," answered Hank. "There are ten of us there."

"So are you aware of a lot of mutants around the country?" asked Jake.

"Yes, we know of quite a few."

"Are they.y'know, good?"

"Some are good people. Others aren't."

"So which group is more prominent? The good mutants or the bad ones?"

"The good, by far. I've had the pleasure of meeting plenty of caring mutants who work for the good of everyone in my lifetime."

"And what about the bad?"

Hank looked out the window and across the Mall. From where he stood, he could see the construction site where the Capitol had once stood. If he turned his head, he could also see the very end of the White House, now home to a new President. His head fell with a heavy sigh.

"They're horrible people. I happen to know the ones who attacked the Capitol, and they're the most wretched creations I have ever met."

"You're kidding! That monster in the red and black costume? You know him?"

Hank nodded. "He calls himself Magneto because he can control magnetic fields."

Jake was surprised by this. Somehow, he had never imagined that Hank and his client had connections to the bad mutants of the country.

"So what about those mutants who saved everyone? The Congressmen say a group of mutants fought Magneto and got them out of the building before it fell. Do you know them?"

Hank looked down at Jake and tried to word his response just right. "I've met them, but I don't know them well." 

Jake didn't need to know that he, in fact, represented them. The two stood there and stared at what had once been the center of American government. Finally, they returned to work and spent the rest of the night researching for the fast approaching day that they would find themselves at the hands of the Supreme Court.


	25. Freedom on Trial

****

A/N: Well, here we are at the penultimate chapter of Evolutionary Crisis! Once again, this is a very long chapter so I'll get right to it. For those who don't know, when an objection is made in court it will either be overruled or sustained. Overruled means the judge dismisses the objection. Sustained means the judge agrees and the objection is enforced. Hope that helps those of you who are unfamiliar with legal jargon. Enjoy!

----------------------------

A month later, the court date arrived. The media stormed Washington to cover the case of the decade. On the morning of August 6, Jake and the Professor made their way through the sea of reporters and into the Supreme Court. Hank would have loved to join them, but the crowd kept him away. He couldn't take the risk of people feeling his fur and crying "mutant!" Charles had been granted a special right to come to the proceedings, but any other mutant that showed up would be carried off by the army to the new detention camps, locations undisclosed. 

Once inside, Jake and Xavier looked around in awe. It the first time for either of them to be inside the Courthouse and it was quite impressive. George Wilbanks spotted them and cut through the crowd to speak to them. 

"Jake! Good to see you decided to show up, after all. I was afraid you might give up and go home."

"Not my style, George. I'd hate to let your client get away again." A conversation with George Wilbanks always sounded civil, but to hear them it was easy to see both men clearly hated each other. 

"And this must be Mr. Charles Xavier. How do you do, sir?"

Xavier shook Wilbanks' hand firmly. "I'm well, thank you."

"So Jake," said George, "impressive building, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful."

Wilbanks was looking around the entrance hall with an air of superiority. "It looks more marvelous each time I come in it. This is my, well I guess it's my tenth case to try at the Supreme Court," he boasted. "Have you ever been here, Jake?"

"Yes, I was an assistant counselor on a case a few years back," he lied. 

"Good for you. Well, I'm heading in. I'll see you two inside." He left without waiting on a goodbye from Xavier and Jake. They wouldn't have offered one if he had waited anyway.

The two made their way inside, followed by Jake's team. They found the counsel table and sat behind it. In front of them was a regal bench, long enough to seat 9 justices. In the center was a large circular plaque, the seal of the Supreme Court. The room around them was draped in flowing crimson curtains. The floor was white marble, as were the columns adorning the walls. Every piece of furniture was beautifully crafted mahogany wood. The chairs were wood, but had crimson pads on the seat and back. There was no media inside the room, save for a handful of reporters that had been given special permission to come inside. Cameras were permanently barred from entering the chambers of the Supreme Court. Jake couldn't help but be impressed when he considered that no camera had ever caught this room on film.

Jake put his briefcase on the table, opened it, and prepared himself for a long day. A glance over at Wilbanks' table showed that the other side was doing the same. Wilbanks caught Jake's eye and the two shared a polite, yet hateful smile. 

Xavier was seated next to Jake, who was sitting on the end of the table closest to the middle of the room. He too was thoroughly impressed by the majesty of the room, though there was something that sickened him too. The room stood as a testament to liberty and freedom. Today, the court would be put to a test. Would it defend that which it stood for or deny it's founding principles? For once, Xavier wished he could have the power of foresight rather than telepathy. It was agonizing to not know what the day would hold.

Finally, a man entered the room through a door in the front and everyone stopped talking. He stepped to the middle of the room and stood up straight. 

"All rise for the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States of America!"

Everyone in the room except for Xavier immediately rose to their feet as the nine justices filed in the room one by one. There were seven men and two women on the bench, ranging in age from 63 to 91. They were mostly very conservative in their political views, a trait that many said was a flaw of the current court. But there was nothing anyone could do about the makeup of the justices. Once on the bench, they were there for life or until they chose to retire.

Once the justices were all seated, the rest of the room returned to their seats as well. It was deathly quiet for a few moments as the justices played with their papers. Finally, Chief Justice Samuel Bolders spoke up.

"This is case 487, _Charles Xavier v. United States of America_. Counselors, I remind you that we have already seen all the evidence you submitted to the court in California. I ask you not to reargue the same evidence here. If you have new evidence or new witnesses, feel free to introduce them but please don't repeat yourselves. Now then, we'd like to do this all in one day so we will not recess until both of you have rested your cases. Mr. Roberts, as the accusing attorney, you will present your case first."

Jake nodded his head as he glanced down one more time at the papers before him. Finally, he stood up on wobbly legs and stepped around his table to begin arguing his side of the case.

"Your honors, mutants are…"

"Mr. Roberts," interrupted Chief Justice Bolders, "please sit down. There's no one to perform to here. We see no reason why you can't present your case from your seat."

Jake was stunned. He stood still for a moment as all the eyes in the room focused on him. Finally, he sheepishly returned to his seat with a weak smile.

"Yes, your honor. I'm sorry."

"Now then, please proceed Mr. Roberts," said the justice once Jake was in his chair again.

Jake took a deep breath and tried to regain his thoughts. "Your honors, mutants are people. Many would say they are animals, but they are just like you and me. They have emotions, thoughts, and feelings. The only thing that separates them from…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt again, counselor," said Bolders once again, "but this is the same opening statement you gave in Oakland. If you would be so kind, go ahead and call your first witness."

The first interruption had caught Jake off guard, but this one simply stunned him. He stared for a moment with his mouth half-open before finally nodding his head and apologizing.

"I'm very sorry, your honors. I'd like to call Dr. Joshua Kayhall to the stand."

Justice Bolders nodded and a side door opened to let Dr. Kayhall into the room. He was a gentle looking man with a receding hairline, but he made up for this with a full brown beard around his face. He was guided to the witness stand where he was sworn in and sat down. 

Jake started to stand up to examine the witness out of habit when he remembered the Court's opinion on that matter. He quickly forced himself to stay seated. 

"Dr. Kayhall is a professor at Harvard University and has conducted many experiments on mutants over the last few years. He has written a total of seven books on mutants and the evolution of mankind. I would like to enter Dr. Kayhall as an expert on human genetics and mutation."

Chief Justice Bolders glanced at his fellow justices quickly, then nodded at Jake. "That's fine."

After two strikes, Jake finally had a hit! He turned his attention to his witness and began his examination. 

"Dr. Kayhall, what was the subject of your most recent experiment?"

"My last experiment tested whether mutants held the same genetic code as normal humans," said Kayhall. If he was nervous, it didn't show. He had testified at trials before, but never one with this much of an impact. He was also a new witness for Jake as the experiment wasn't concluded and published until mere days before the trial in California.

"And what did you find?" asked Jake.

"We tested blood from volunteers, both human and mutant. We also performed autopsies on human and mutant cadavers to test their anatomy. Each test showed that humans and mutants are of the same species. The blood is exactly the same. The anatomy of the two is nearly identical, except for one part of the brain. In mutants, the brain has one small area that is not found in normal human brains. This section is only about the size of a man's thumbnail, but I believe that this is what gives mutants their powers."

"And what about the genetic makeup, doctor?"

"The DNA of mutants is exactly the same as that of regular humans. As we all know, each person's DNA is slightly different, but they all follow the same basic pattern. This pattern exists only in humans. Each species has a different basic pattern that outlines it's own DNA. The DNA in mutants follows precisely the same pattern that represents humans in genetic code."

"So it is your conclusion that mutants are, in fact, human?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Dr. Kayhall," said Jake with a smile and a nod to his expert. He then turned his attention back to the justices seated above him. "I have no further questions for this witness, your honors."

"Very well," said Bolders, "Mr. Wilbanks, your witness."

Wilbanks sat forward in his chair. He had been unusually quiet so far. Normally, Wilbanks liked to object to everything he could. Jake assumed he was probably keeping quiet so as not to get on the wrong side of the justices too early.

"Dr. Kayhall, I'm just curious. Where did you find mutant volunteers to be experimented on?"

"They were students from the campus of Harvard University," answered Kayhall. 

"Students? Why would they tell you that they were mutants? Wouldn't that mean they would be reported and arrested?"

"I promised them strict confidence, as well as compensation for their help. I cannot tell anyone, not even my superiors at Harvard, which students came forward as mutants."

"I see. And when did this experiment take place?"

"Objection!" yelled Jake. "What's the point of this?"

"I'm getting there, your honors," said Wilbanks innocently.

"Overruled," said Bolders after a slight hesitation. He turned his attention back to Kayhall. "Please answer the question, doctor."

"We started around November of last year. We completed the research about three months ago."

"I see. Now Dr. Kayhall, you were aware of the identities of each of the mutant students, were you not?"

"I was."

"Were you also aware that you were required by law to report any mutant to the government should you learn of their existence?"

"I was," said Kayhall defiantly.

"Then you're also aware that you could be arrested and subpoenaed for that information."

"Objection!" called Jake.

"Overruled," said Bolders quickly.

"That depends on the ruling made today," Kayhall said with a quick smirk at Wilbanks.

"Your honors, this witness deliberately defied the laws of our nation. I call for his testimony to be stricken from the record!"

There was a short pause as the justices whispered to each other with their hands covering their microphones. Finally, a decision was made and Bolders leaned into the microphone.

"Despite Dr. Kayhall's conduct, we believe that his testimony is important. However, we will not forget your actions, Dr. Kayhall. I ask you to please reconsider the next time you deliberately choose to disobey the laws of this nation."

"Yes, your honor," said Kayhall.

"Are there any more questions, counselor?" asked Bolders.

"No, your honor. I'm through with this witness," responded Wilbanks, somewhat sickened.

"Very well," said Bolders with a glance to his fellow justices. "Thank you, Dr. Kayhall. You may step down now."

Kayhall nodded as he stood up and left the courtroom. Jake wasn't sure if that had been a success or not. Kayhall had performed well, but Wilbanks had managed to cause plenty of doubt about his intentions.

"Mr. Roberts, please continue," said Bolders.

Jake grabbed another piece of paper as he let the anticipation of his next witness linger. "As my next witness, I would like to call to the stand Senator Ellen Dott."

The courtroom didn't have many people in it. There was no one there but the justices, lawyers, Xavier, guards, the stenographer, and a few select reporters. But at this announcement, everyone in the room came alive with energy. Jake had slipped Senator Dott onto his list of prospective witnesses quietly and a glance at Wilbanks' table proved that they hadn't expected to see a US Senator on the stand today. Jake couldn't help but smile to himself as Dott entered the room through the same door as Kayhall had and sat down at the witness stand, where she was sworn in.

"Senator Dott," began Jake, "please tell the court your position in the government."

"I am a Democrat from New Hampshire. I've been in the Senate for 4 years now and have served on multiple committees, including one that worked to promote tolerance of minorities around the country."

"Thank you. Senator, where were you the day the Capitol was attacked by mutants?"

"I was trapped inside the House of Representatives chambers, like all the other Congressmen and women."

"Would you please tell us what happened that day?" Jake had gone over this testimony with Senator Dott many times. They had also gone over the testimony with Capitol officials, who had prohibited some parts of Dott's story to be told. They didn't want the general public to know everything that happened in the Capitol for fear that some mutant might be inspired by the more cruel aspects of Magneto's attack. Jake had no problem with leaving these parts out. It wouldn't do for mutants to look like monsters, even if Magneto was one. 

"I'd be glad to," answered Dott. "We had been called together for a joint session that would last one month. On the third day of the session, we were interrupted by a group of guards running into the chamber and telling everyone to get on the ground because we were under attack. But before we could move, a man entered the room through a door in the back. I looked back just long enough to see that he was wearing a cape and a helmet and that he was flying. That was enough to convince me to get on the ground and start praying. Soon, I heard gunshots. When the shots stopped, I slowly raised up to look over the row of chairs. That's when I saw the guards lying in a pile on the ground. The man in the helmet was now in the front of the room, standing at the podium. He began talking as if he was going to give a speech. He said he was a mutant named Erik Lensherr, but that we preferred to be called Magneto. Then he described his beliefs that mutants are the next step in human evolution. After a long speech, he said he was going to kill us. But he was stopped by a group of mutants that stormed into the room and started fighting him. They fought until finally the group of mutants won and Magneto was knocked out cold. That was when the building began to rumble and we all realized that it was going to collapse, so everyone just ran as fast as they could. The group of mutants helped most of us escape before the building fell and we wouldn't have made it if not for them. Personally, I was lost in the confusion until one of the mutants grabbed my hand. I didn't get a real good look at him, but I did notice he had blue fur over his body. Anyway, he grabbed my hand and the next thing I knew I was standing outside. He had teleported myself as well as several other Congressmen out of the building. Then he disappeared, and reappeared with more people a moment later."

Professor Xavier smiled to himself throughout the latter part of the story. He was quite proud of his X-Men, even if they must remain anonymous.

"That's quite a story, Senator Dott," said Jake dramatically. Oh, what he would do to get to walk back and forth across the floor of the chamber right now. It was hard to hit a stride from a chair. "It sounds like you were incredibly lucky to survive."

"Yes, I believe we were."

"Objection," snarled Wilbanks. "That's speculation."

"And it is correct speculation, Mr. Wilbanks," said Justice Anne Boyles, who had been noticeably moved by the story.

Wilbanks turned to Bolders for the official ruling. 

"Overruled."

Jake smiled. It was just so much fun to see Wilbanks get overruled.

"Now you say you were rescued by a group of mutants, Senator?" he continued.

"Yes," said Dott with a nod. "There were seven or eight of them I believe."

"Did they ever treat any of the Congressmen threateningly?"

"No, not at all! They were very kind, even respectful towards us."

"If you were to judge their behavior, Senator, would you say they acted more like animals or humans?"

"Objection!" shouted Wilbanks loudly as he jumped to his feet. Every eye turned to him as he stood next to his table. He was clearly troubled by the Senator's presence and afraid of her testimony.

"Sit down, Mr. Wilbanks," said Bolders condescendingly. 

Wilbanks sheepishly returned to his seat, his face now bright red. Jake was doing all he could to keep his face from beaming with delight. 

"Despite the outburst," said Bolders with an annoyed look at Wilbanks, "the objection is sustained. The senator is not qualified to make such a judgment."

Jake's happy smile was gone. It took all his self-control to keep himself in his own seat now.

"Your honors, I'm not asking for a scientific opinion. I merely want the Senator to tell us what her experience was with the mutants. Did they seem more like animals or humans in her personal opinion?"

"Regardless, Mr. Roberts, she is unqualified to make such a distinction."

Jake's eyes lowered in defeat. He wanted to press the matter one more time, but that would be a rookie mistake and he doubted the chief justice of the Supreme Court would reverse the decision. He looked back at Dott after shuffling his notes.

"Senator, did you vote for the Anti-Mutant Act?"

"I did."

"Do you still believe in it?"

"I most certainly do not! At the time, I believed mutants were savages who must be kept at bay. But the incident at the Capitol changed my mind. I know it seems strange, but I saw compassion in the faces of the mutants that saved us. It was obvious they didn't want anyone to get hurt. When they escorted us out of the building, they put themselves at risk. They could have easily ignored us and escaped on their own, leaving my fellow congressmen and I to die. But instead, they didn't leave until every single person, including the mutant who originally attacked us, was out of the building. If I had it to do over again, I would fight against the Anti-Mutant Act as hard as I could and ensure it was never passed."

Once again, Charles Xavier beamed with pride.

"Thank you, Senator. No further questions."

Now all eyes turned to Wilbanks, who was sitting calmly in his chair. The frazzled look was gone now that it was his turn. All Jake could do was watch and pray that Wilbanks wouldn't tear up his key witness.

"Senator Dott, could you refresh my memory on the name of the mutant who first attacked the Capitol?"

"It was Erik Lensherr, but he called himself Magneto."

"Yes, and this Magneto, what should be done with him in your opinion?"

"He should be put in prison for the remainder of his life." Ever the politician, Senator Dott was not about to admit she thought he should receive the death penalty. A statement like that could hurt her in the next election.

Wilbanks feigned shock. "So the mutant who killed ten guards before your eyes and then threatened to take your own life while declaring that mutants are better than humans, you believe he should be allowed to live?"

"Yes," she lied.

"Why give him such mercy, Senator? As the governor of New Hampshire you denied clemency to," he glanced at his notes briefly, "sixteen prisoners, I believe. And the worst of those men only killed 4 people. Why are you so gracious to your own attacker, Senator? Why so much mercy to a man who killed ten guards right in front of you?"

It was a low blow and everyone in the room knew it. Wilbanks was trying to throw her off guard and seemed to be succeeding. 

"And what about the mutant who killed the President, Senator?" continued Wilbanks. "We haven't found him yet, but when we do, should we let him live?"

"Objection, your honor," said Jake, raising his hand like a schoolboy. If he couldn't stand up, he would find another way to express his anger at the remark. "The Senator's history on the death sentence is completely irrelevant. As is her opinion on the fates of such obvious criminals."

"Sustained. Move on, counselor."

Wilbanks shook his head as he hid a smile. Objection or not, he had Dott completely frazzled now.

"Mrs. Dott, are you aware that your group of 'savior mutants' killed another mutant on the steps of the Capitol that day?"

Dott's face took on a look of shock. "No, I was not aware of that."

Wilbanks looked like her best friend delivering bad news. "I'm afraid one mutant was burned to death by the group that saved you on the Capitol steps because he wouldn't let them in. His body was scorched beyond recognition."

Dott was obviously disgusted by the visual image in her mind. 

"Tell me, Senator, are you still so impressed by those mutants?"

She looked for a moment at Jake as if to ask why she had not heard about this. Finally, she turned to Wilbanks and opened her mouth to speak.

"No, I'm not. Murdering a man on the steps of the Capitol is an outrageous offense!"

Wilbanks' face lit up instantly. "But they saved your life, Senator."

"And destroyed another! All murderers are the same and that means they're no better than Lensherr!"

Wilbanks turned his head slowly up to the bench with a wide smile crossing his face. He let the Senator's words dissipate into the air dramatically before allowing everyone to move on.

"No further questions, your honors."

"Very well. Thank you Senator. You may step down now."

She stood up and left the room quickly without turning to look at Jake. He had just lost his star witness and he was left with no one to repair the damage. When she was gone, Bolders turned his head back to Jake.

"Call your next witness, counselor."

Jake looked up humbly. "I don't have one, your honor. We rest."

Bolders nodded as he turned to Wilbanks.

"Then that makes it your turn, Mr. Wilbanks."

"Thank you, your honor. We will call Dr. Thomas Cowan to the stand."

A new door opened and Dr. Cowan emerged and headed for the witness stand.

"Dr. Cowan teaches at Yale University and has written many theses over the years about evolution, as well as the effects of radiation. I present him to the court as an expert on human and mutant evolution."

"All right," said Bolders.

Wilbanks turned to his expert quickly. "Dr. Cowan, you published a theory as to how mutants came to be on this Earth about two years ago, did you not?"

"I did."

"What was your conclusion?"

"I concluded that mutants are a direct result of radiation in the atmosphere. Starting with the bombing of Hiroshima to end World War II, many nuclear bombs have been detonated over the course of the last century. Many countries around the globe, such as America, Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea, have performed tests with nuclear weapons that have left radioactive particles dissolved in the air. These particles then returned to the Earth mixed in rain. This has led to mutations in some humans that make them incredibly dangerous."

"How are they dangerous, Doctor?"

"Well, their mutations themselves are dangerous. Some fire destructive beams from their bodies. Others can control the elements such as wind, water, and fire. And some have telepathic abilities that enable them to control other people's minds."

There was a short pause as every eye in the room turned to Professor Xavier suspiciously. Everyone there knew what his power was.

"On top of this," continued Cowan, "they seem to be incredibly hostile towards others. They are always caught up in some seemingly never-ending chain of fights and battles with one another. And lately, these battles have included a death toll. Riots in California have left nearly 50 mutants dead and almost double that in human deaths. During the attacks on the Capitol and the White House, 90 American men were killed by mutants. The body count is rising uncontrollably! Mutants clearly cannot control their destructive and murderous tendencies."

Jake wanted to object to that statement, but couldn't think of anything that would work, so he kept quiet.

"What do you believe is the solution to this crisis?" asked Wilbanks smugly.

"We should lock up as many as possible and ban nuclear testing. Eventually, mutants will disappear. The radiation will disperse into the air enough that no one could consume enough of it to form a mutation. In 100 years, mutants will be a thing of the past."

"Thank you, Dr. Cowan. No further questions."

"Mr. Roberts?" questioned Bolders.

"Just one question, your honors." Jake didn't want to try to argue science with a celebrated scientist such as Cowan, so he decided not to ask how Cowan had come to his conclusions. Instead, he attacked the heart of Cowan's testimony.

"If mutants are a result of Hiroshima, Doctor, why is it only recently that we have become aware of them?"

"The blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not release enough radiation to cause widespread mutations. It wasn't until the 1950's, when America and the Soviet Union began testing nuclear weapons left and right, that we began to see mutants appearing."

Charles Xavier, Logan, and Magneto all existed as living proof that Cowan was wrong, but unfortunately Jake wasn't aware of this. He simply accepted the answer and moved on.

"No further questions, your honors," said Jake. That cross-examination had been a complete bust.

Cowan left the courtroom quickly while Wilbanks announced his next witness. This one was every bit as much of a surprise to Jake as Ellen Dott had been to Wilbanks, if not more so.

"My next witness, your honors, will be Senator Edward Kelly."

Xavier looked up in shock. This was about to turn very, very ugly.

Kelly emerged into the room and sat down as he was sworn in. Soon, Wilbanks was ready to talk to his surprise witness.

"Senator Kelly, you were nearly killed by a mutant at the Capitol just like Senator Dott, were you not?"

"I was."

"We have all heard the story told very well by Senator Dott, so I won't ask you to repeat it. But I was wondering if you came away with the same impressions as your fellow senator."

"I did not. That event further convinced me that mutants are a threat that must be stopped."

"Now it was your brother who first proposed the Anti-Mutant Act a year ago, was it not, Senator Kelly?"

"It was."

"What happened to him?"

"He was murdered in Chicago by a mutant along with dozens of other innocent people."

"Wasn't it in fact by the same mutant who attacked the Capitol, Senator?"

Kelly was visibly angry at the thought of his brother's murder. "It was."

"Senator, other than the Congressmen in the room with you and the mutant who killed your brother, did you recognize anyone else in the room that day?"

Xavier's eyes were now fixed on Kelly, who was staring right back at him as confirmation of what was about to happen.

"I did. I knew the mutants who 'saved' us." He spat out the word "saved" with an annoyed and ironic tone.

"Really?" said Wilbanks in a feigned surprised tone. "Who were they?"

"They were a group of mutants from Bayville, New York, my hometown. I was once the principal of the high school there. They were students of mine. They were also the same mutants who did millions of dollars in damage while fighting a giant robot two years ago. Their names are Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Kurt Wagner, Catherine Pride, and Rogue Adler. The group calls themselves the X-Men. They are the same X-Men who were named by my brother when he first introduced the Anti-Mutant Act in October. They are also the same X-Men who attacked the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay last year, killing dozens of soldiers. They have been trained to use their powers as weapons and to fight battles with anyone in their paths. While at my school, they caused quite a bit of damage and frequently engaged in fights with another group of mutants at the school."

"Who would train them to do these things?" asked Wilbanks innocently.

Kelly turned his head to look straight into Xavier's eyes as he raised his hand to point at him. "Charles Xavier."

The whole room emitted an audible gasp at this. Every eye again turned to Xavier, but this time with shock on the faces rather than suspicion. Xavier silently held his head up high with his eyes locked on Kelly's, a task that took every ounce of strength he had at the moment.

Finally, Kelly continued on after letting the words sink in for everyone in the room. "He gathered them under the pretense of a boarding school for mutants. In actuality, it is a training ground for a mutant army. They have facilities that would rival those of our own army!"

"Really? That's incredible!" said Wilbanks, who was clearly enjoying this moment. In glancing around the room, he could see he had everyone shocked, including Jake, whose mouth hung open as he stared back and forth from Kelly to his client.

"It's the truth," said Kelly matter-of-factly, leaving no doubt that he knew what he was talking about.

"Thank you Senator Kelly. I have no further questions."

Bolders shook his head out of the daze he had been in and looked at Jake. "Would you like to cross-examine, counselor?"

Jake still couldn't believe it! His client was the leader of an underground mutant army! He had been blind-sided by Wilbanks' bomb. He became faintly aware that Bolders was speaking to him and looked up at the Chief Justice.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked stupidly.

"Would you like to cross-examine the witness, Mr. Roberts?" repeated Bolders.

Jake shook his head slowly. "No, your honor." The damage had been done and there was nothing Jake could do to repair it.

"Then you may step down, Mr. Kelly," said Bolders.

Kelly nodded and left the room with a satisfied smile and a slight skip in his step. He had clearly enjoyed his time on the stand.

"We have one more witness, your honors," said Wilbanks. "I'd like to call Mr. Charles Xavier to the stand."

If the courtroom had been buzzing before when Kelly and Dott had been announced, then it was absolutely roaring now. Jake quickly shot his arm into the air.

"Objection! Your honors, I have not been informed that my client would be a witness for Mr. Wilbanks!"

"Look at your list of prospective witnesses, Mr. Roberts," said Bolders slowly. "I believe you'll find Mr. Xavier listed there."

Jake quickly shuffled through his papers until he found the list. He scanned the names quickly and soon found it. Three-fourths of the way down the list was the name Charles Xavier. He looked up at his client in shock, but it was clear from Xavier's face that he was every bit as stunned as Jake. Finally, Jake looked at Wilbanks, who was sitting at his bench with a huge grin. He must have slipped it in recently. Jake hadn't looked at the list in the last week since he was busy prepping his own witnesses. Wilbanks must have quietly put Xavier on the list some time since then. Slowly, Jake's head fell in defeat. He nodded silently, which Bolders accepted to mean Xavier was in fact on his list.

"Then the objection is overruled. Mr. Xavier, please approach the stand."

Xavier kept his eyes on Wilbanks as he moved his wheelchair to the witness stand and was sworn in. Since he couldn't climb the steps into the stand, he stayed in his wheelchair on the floor beside it. When Wilbanks looked up at Xavier, he found the telepath's eyes locked on his own.

"Mr. Xavier, would you please tell us what it is you do for a living."

"I own and operate the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters."

"Gifted? What do you mean by that?"

"My students are all mutants. I help them learn to control their powers so that they don't hurt anyone."

"According to Senator Kelly, you train them to do much more than that," smirked Wilbanks.

"Objection!" shouted Jake. 

"Overruled," said Bolders quickly.

Xavier turned his stare back to Wilbanks. "The group of mutants that saved the lives of the Congress were my students. They have been trained to use their powers in a battle situation, but I only trained them to do this so that…"

"Thank you, Professor," said Wilbanks, effectively cutting him off. "But tell me, did you train them to kill?"

"No!" protested Xavier quickly. "I would never ask anyone, especially my own students, to kill another human being!"

"Then why have your students killed one mutant and dozens of American soldiers?"

Xavier winced slightly. He had watched silently as Wolverine killed soldiers in the mansion when they were first attacked. Later, the X-Men had killed even more soldiers in Cuba. Then Scott had killed Pyro in Washington. It only struck him now that the X-Men's bodycount was rising quickly.

For a brief moment, he was tempted to use his powers. There weren't but twenty people in the room. He could easily wipe their minds of the last few minutes, then force the justices to rule in favor of mutants. But that would be ignoring the laws. If he acted as if he were above the laws of the country, then he would be acting just as Magneto had. He refused to stoop to his old friend's tactics. Instead, he would allow these proceedings to go on without his interference.

Wilbanks hadn't expected an answer, so he wasn't surprised when Xavier didn't offer one. He simply shrugged and moved on. The damage had been done without a response.

"How do you find your students, Professor?"

"When we learn of a teenager whose mutant abilities have recently manifested, we approach the child and their parents and politely ask them to consider enrolling at our school."

"And if they say no?"

"We would never force a student to come with us, if that's what you're implying."

"How many students have you attempted to recruit?"

Xavier thought for a moment and mentally counted everyone he had approached or tried to approach over the years. 

"Eleven."

"Did they all accept?"

"No, one refused and one we tried to approach but never had a chance to." It wouldn't do to mention that that one was Blob, who had been involved in the Capitol attack.

"So that means you have nine mutants living and training for battle at your 'institute,' and ten if you count yourself."

"They're not training for battle…"

"Just answer the question, Professor," interrupted Wilbanks.

Xavier sighed. "Yes, there are ten people living at the Institute."

"Professor Xavier, as you answer the next question I want you to remember that perjury is a crime. Are you building a mutant army?"

"No!" growled Xavier harshly.

"Then tell me Professor, what are you building?"

Again, Xavier was reminded of the words of Magneto back before the X-Men had been founded. They had both been trying to recruit Logan and they both happened to find him at the same time. When Logan agreed to go with Xavier, Magneto had turned to his old friend and asked, "if not an army, what are you going to build?" The words had haunted him ever since.

"The X-Men are not an army!" he said forcefully. "They are a group of mutants who are trained to use their powers to protect those around them. That is what they did at the Capitol. They protected the leaders of our government and saved their lives!"

"And when it was all over," said Wilbanks, continuing Xavier's story, "they leveled the building and allowed another mutant to assassinate the President. Some protection they provided. No further questions, your honors."

Wilbanks smiled smugly in his chair as Bolders turned his attention to Jake.

"Your witness, Mr. Roberts."

"Thank you, your honor," said Jake, who was still in a small state of shock. Wilbanks had landed a huge bomb on him and Jake wasn't sure how to fix it. He just knew he had to do something. He decided to just start asking questions and see what happened.

"Professor Xavier, what is your position on human and mutant relations?"

"I firmly believe that humans and mutants can exist together peacefully if given the chance. I have seen and experienced this peaceful cohabitation often."

"And aren't you well known around the country for this belief?" asked Jake.

"Yes. I have published three works where I explained this philosophy in detail."

"So you are a well-known supporter of peace between humans and mutants?"

"Yes."

"Professor, what would you have to gain from organizing a mutant army?"

"Nothing. It would only cause humans to feel more distrust against mutants. Since regular humans hold the majority in the world, a mutant army could never bring about any substantial change in mutant perception. They would eventually be overpowered and destroyed."

"Then why would Mr. Wilbanks make such an outrageous claim against you? If what you say is true, then he has no proof to base such accusations."

"There is no proof of what he is suggesting for the simple reason that his accusations are wrong. I believe he said what he said as a desperate attempt to win this case. He has probably seen the Anti-Mutant Act for what it is, an unconstitutional and discriminatory law."

"Objection," said Wilbanks quickly, but politely. He wasn't really worried, but that had warranted an objection and he did love to object.

"Sustained. Mr. Xavier is not qualified to decide what sort of law the Anti-Mutant Act is. That's why we're here today," said Bolders.

"I have no further questions for my client, your honors," said Jake once Bolders was done. 

Xavier immediately began moving back to the bench to sit beside Jake again. Bolders turned his attention back to Wilbanks.

"Do you have any more witnesses, counselor?"

"I do not. The people rest, your honors."

"Well then," said Bolders as he gathered his notes. "We will recess until we have a ruling. Counselors, we'll contact you when we're ready. Dismissed."

Slowly, everyone in the room stood up for the first time in hours. They had been in the courthouse since 10:00 that morning and it was now mid-afternoon. The reporters and lawyers were hurried from the room by the guards. Once outside, Jake and Xavier returned to Jake's office, where they met Hank. They ordered lunch and began the nervous wait for the ruling.

*****

After four hours, they were still in the office. They had been discussing the events of the day and had decided that it didn't look good. Even Xavier and Hank had to admit that had they been the Supreme Court today, they would have ruled in favor of the USA based on the testimony given.

Finally, the door opened and Dylan Brigans, one of Jake's three young assistants, burst through the door.

"The Court just called," he said excitedly. "They're back!"

*****

Once everyone was settled back into their seats, the Justices reemerged into the courtroom. Jake and Xavier sat nervously in their seats. Neither one looked over at Wilbanks, but if they had they would have seen a man who looked completely comfortable in his surroundings. The only person who knew the truth was George Wilbanks himself. His demeanor appeared cool, but inside he was every bit as nervous as Jake.

Finally, Bolders took a deep breath and began to speak.

"This case is the most important case to come before the Supreme Court in decades. Never has this set of justices deliberated for so long or so intensely. But in the end, we came to an eight to one decision.

"This country was founded on the principle that every man was created equal. Despite that belief, America enslaved an entire race for nearly a century. It then took another century for the country to declare that race fit to enjoy the same luxuries as the dominant race. Only today are we beginning to see racial equality in our country and we still have a long way to go in that area.

"But the question raised by this case is whether mutants were created equal with humans. In essence, the question is 'are they men or animals?' In the opinion of this court, they are men. As such, it would be wrong to deny them the freedoms they deserve. It is our belief that the Anti-Mutant Act was nothing more than a setback for equality in America. Therefore, we find in favor of Charles Xavier and we rule that the Anti-Mutant Act is unconstitutional and must be repealed immediately. All mutants currently imprisoned by the government must be immediately released back to their homes and families."

Bolders rapped his gavel down on the podium twice. "Adjourned."

The reporters in the crowd were buzzing at the verdict. They immediately ran from the room to call their superiors and break the news. Wilbanks slowly rose to his feet, grabbed his briefcase, and left the courtroom without a word to anyone. He never even glanced at Jake. It wouldn't sink in for a few hours that he had just lost his first case in thirty years. In the meantime, he intended to go home and hide from the world.

Jake sat in stunned silence in his chair. His mouth hung open as his assistants jumped with joy and hugged each other. He had won! He had beat Wilbanks! He had ensured freedom for mutants and, in a way, avenged his lost brother! He had dreamed of this moment for years, but he had never known just how he would celebrate it or how he would feel. Now that the moment had arrived, all he could register in his mind was absolute awe. He was awoken from his daze by the hand of Charles Xavier sticking over his chest.

"Congratulations, Jake! And thank you."

Jake clasped the hand firmly and shook it with all his might as glee finally found its way to his face.

"Congratulations to you too!" he shouted, not caring who heard him. "And I owe you thanks as well. You helped me more than you can know!"

Xavier smiled at him knowingly. "I think you forget one thing. I'm a telepath."

Jake grinned. "Oh yeah. Well then I guess you do know how you've helped me, don't you?"

Xavier chuckled lightly. "Sorry. You were projecting your thoughts. I wasn't trying to invade your mind."

Both men simply laughed as Jake finally rose to his feet.

"Well," said Jake, still wearing his boyish grin, "I guess I'm off to find the reporters. I'm sure they'll wanna see me."

"Yes, I'm sure they will. I'll see you at your office later."

Xavier watched Jake practically skip through the courtroom and out the door. Finally, he turned his wheelchair and headed for the back door that had a wheelchair ramp leading outside. When he left the building, he immediately saw a van waiting for him with Hank in the driver's seat. Hank helped him into the back of the van and the two mutants drove off.

"Well Charles, we did it!"

"Yes we did, Hank. It's over. We're free once again."


	26. Returning to Life

Author's Notes will be at the end.

------------------------------

The door opened to allow the beautiful woman inside. She said she was a reporter and she insisted on complete privacy while she conducted her interview. The guards didn't bother asking for ID. A quick glance at the long legs protruding from her short business skirt was enough for them. 

Finally, she entered the room where she would be allowed to conduct her interview. It was the same as the movies always showed it. Glass split the room in half. There were four seats on either side of the glass and partitions to separate them so that, in essence, there were four private booths with one chair on either side of the glass. The woman sat down in the chair against the far wall and waited.

Finally, the door opened in the other half of the room, the half she was cut off from by the huge pane of reinforced glass. A guard emerged first, followed by the mutant prisoner and another guard. The prisoner's hands were shackled together by a long chain. He was led to the seat across from the woman and left alone with her.

"Ya got 30 minutes," said the guard as he closed the door. The woman nodded her understanding.

Now they were alone. The prisoner reached for the receiver that looked like a telephone and put it next to his face. The woman followed his lead and did the same.

"How nice to see you again, Mystique."

"Wish I could say the same, Erik."

"So, you've let me sit here for four months. I'm sure you heard about the trial?"

"Which one? Yours or Xavier's?"

"Both."

"Yes, I did. Frankly, I find it rather amusing."

Magneto scowled. "And what is so amusing about me being sentenced to life in prison?"

"Just as freedom is granted to every mutant in the country, yours is taken away."

"I fail to see the humor."

Mystique smiled at him as they sat in silence for a moment.

"I suppose you're here to get me out?" said Magneto with an obviously optimistic tone.

"Actually, no," said Mystique rather wickedly. "I'm here to let you know how bad you screwed it up. I came to answer those questions that must be laying on your mind."

Magneto watched her mouth curl up in a cruel smile. "Fine, I'll play your game. What happened? I thought Destiny was never wrong."

"She wasn't wrong. She said we'd be successful if we kept the two X-Men out of the fight. And in a sense, we were successful. We did manage to kill the President, after all. But we could have won the day completely. We could have destroyed the Congress too, if not for your lust for blood!"

"What?!" cried Magneto loudly. "Are you suggesting this is my fault?"

"It _is_ your fault, Erik. The vision Destiny saw was what would have happened if we had waited another three weeks to attack. But you just had to change the plans. You got angry and impatient and it cost you your freedom, not to mention Pyro's life! And by the way, Wolverine nearly killed me, too! And it was entirely your fault. I've talked to Destiny personally and that was exactly what she said. That the only reason we failed was because you got impatient. When you changed the day of the attack, you nullified her vision completely!"

Magneto sat in silence for a few seconds before responding.

"What about the others? What happened to the Brotherhood?"

"The X-Men had managed to put them all out of the way pretty easily. Colossus rounded them up and carried them off before the building collapsed. They're fine, but I wouldn't expect them to follow you again anytime soon."

Magneto glanced around the room. His hands were shackled together by metal handcuffs, he was stuck in prison like a common thief, and now his followers had officially abandoned him. Life was great.

"They're suppressing my powers with some sort of serum. I can't escape on my own."

"Good!" said Mystique chipperly. "You need to spend some time in here."

They both glared at each other through the glass. 

"Then you're not going to help me?"

"No. When have you ever helped me, Erik? If you wanna get out, do it yourself."

"I will," he growled through the glass. "Someday I'll be out of here and I won't forget this conversation."

"Fine, whatever."

"By the way, I suggest you stay on your toes. They're looking for the mutant that killed the President. I've refused to give them any information, but I can always change my mind." He smiled at her menacingly.

"Erik, I can change my appearance to be anyone at anytime. The odds of them finding me are slim to none. So tell them all about me. I'm too good to get caught."

"Then I suggest you run, Mystique. And when they close in on you, remember me."

Mystique stood up quickly, the receiver still against her face.

"Goodbye, Erik."

She returned the receiver to its holder and left the room without looking back at Magneto. She continued walking until she was out of the building entirely. Then she slipped into an alley, changed her appearance to that of a young man, and left the federal prison for good.

*****

August 19, two weeks after the trial, was the first day of school. As such, it was also the first day that Scott, Jean, Logan, Remy, Ororo, and the Professor had inside the mansion without the kids. They spent the day cleaning. The X-Men had returned to the aboveground portion of the mansion a week before, but there was still plenty of work to be done. Fortunately, the army had already cleaned the blood left from the day of the attack. But there were still many jobs to be done. Bulletholes had to be repaired. Windows had to be replaced. The mansion had to be generally restored to being a home again. It would take months for the warm feelings of home to return, but they would eventually come. In the meantime, all they could do was wait and live their lives, their free lives. Free from the threat of detention camps. Free from the threat of Sentinels. Free from the threat of Magneto. To Scott and Jean, it seemed like the happiest time they could ever remember.

*****

Rogue, Kurt, and Kitty stood on the steps of Bayville High School for the first time in nearly a year. It was the first day of school. The last time they had seen this building had been the day the Anti-Mutant Act passed and they had been called away so suddenly. It had been the day that had defined their lives for ten months. It had been the day that had changed their lives forever. It had been the day Evan died.

And now, they stood together at the entrance to the school debating whether they could go back or not. Things could never be the same inside that building again. For one thing, they had all been held back a year, an inevitability when you're unable to go to classes. The classes at the mansion had kept them sharp, but could not substitute as required work for school. As a result, they were all now forced into classes with people they didn't know, people who had always been in the grade below them, and perhaps, people who hated them. They each took a deep breath to prepare themselves.

"Well, its now or never," said Kitty. 

They all nodded, climbed the stairs, and entered the school building together with their heads held high.

--------------------------------------

****

A/N: Well, that's it. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have. Right now, I have some acknowledgments I'd like to make. Many would call these "shout-outs." I hate that word, though. So these are acknowledgments. 

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Jolly B – You only reviewed once, but you reviewed first. That is why you get named first. Thanks for the vote of confidence when I really needed it. Five chapters with no reviews can really make someone feel bad. Thanks again!

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ishandahalf – You never cease to amaze me with your speed of posting reviews. There would be times that the new chapter wasn't up but for a mere hour and you would have already reviewed it! For those who don't know, ish is a teenage girl in Canada who has been locked in a small room with nothing but a computer and a love for the X-Men. She spends all of her time reading fan fiction and posting reviews to Romy stories. Her life is sustained by sugar and Mountain Dew, both of which are fed to her intravenously throughout the day. She also gets her exercise by chasing crack bunnies around the room. lol, just kidding, ish. Just so you know, your reviews changed one aspect of this story. It wasn't incredibly major, but it could have been depending on how it was handled. I'm not telling what it was, but I'm rather glad you came along because I like things the way they turned out. Incidentally, your "Decemberween" comment still cracks me up to this day!

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furygrrl – My resident Jean and Logan nut! As you noted, I was trying to blend Evo with the comics and original series. I hope I succeeded. Thank you for sticking around despite Jean's decision to stay with Scott.

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sweetlikechocolate – And here is my resident Jean and Scott nut! You're enthusiasm for Jott is quite obvious. Between you and furygrrl I just couldn't please anyone! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews.

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PossesedRoguey – For some reason, I could have sworn you wrote more than just one review, but I can't seem to find anymore right now! lol, I guess that shows how much I appreciated your review. Thanks.

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LyranFan – I'm very glad you liked the story. To know that I connected with an older fan who grew up with the comics is quite an honor. Thank you.

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Shadowkeepre – Though ish made me change some of my plans, you actually made me edit a chapter! Thanks for pointing out my mistakes. I appreciate it. I suppose I should start using a beta…oh well!

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Kase1 – I know what you mean. But this story is proof that if you hold out through the lack of reviews, they will eventually come. Thanks.

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bocaj – Yeah, we dealt with some drama there for a while, but the truth is you are a valued reviewer and I'm very glad you decided to stick with me to the end. I hope the end of the story was more to your liking than the middle.

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FoenixFyre – I'm glad you felt my story was something new and different. That was a goal of mine. The biggest inspiration I had for this fic was the fact that every story I was reading in XME fandom was basically the same! Thanks for your many reviews! Oh, and don't worry about that comment I called you on a while back. We all make mistakes when we're not thinking.

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StraightJacketPhil – Thanks for all the reviews, though I maintain that you probably need psychological help! lol. For all of you who enjoy intense and senseless gory violence, I strongly suggest Phil's "X-Men Evolution Uncut." It's very good.

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tenzo – Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it.

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Cyko Person – I left the cliffhanger on Jean's decision just so that I could get more people like you to leave me a review. I wanted to know what my readers wanted. Thank you for taking my bait and giving your input! I appreciate it.

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aimtbj – Thanks very much for the review. I'm glad to know you liked it.

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Jen1703 – As I've told you, I tried to not let the Logan/Jean relationship get very disturbing anytime I could avoid it. I hope you were able to look past it. I'm glad it was recommended to you as well!

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Star-of-Chaos – I agree. There is nobody else in the Evo universe that could get away with killing the President, especially in the way she did! Thanks for the review.

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madleinx – Thank you very much! For those who want tips on how to get on my good side, read madleinx's review. I always like to have my writing skills complimented. Is that selfish and arrogant of me? Yes, but I can live with that on my conscience! lol. Anyway, I know I'm not good with imagery. That has always been a problem of mine. My brain just doesn't seem to think out of the box enough to handle imagery. I'm much more of a literal type of thinker. But I'll work on it! Thanks again.

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Xerios – Thanks for the reviews and I hope you get that problem with the chapters worked out on your computer sometime soon. I still can't imagine how you managed to follow the story without those chapters, but I applaud your perseverance! Thank you very much.

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Jennilyn Maxwell – Thank you. I grew up on the original cartoon and so a lot of this story has been influenced by that. It's always good to see fellow lifelong fans.

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Wing Knight – Thanks for pointing out my mistakes on the Supreme Court chapter. As I said before, I tried to research Supreme Court proceedings but couldn't find anything. Besides, I think the trial was more interesting the way I did it than it would have been had I followed the actual guidelines anyway.

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Radical Chic – Thanks very much for the review. I tried to keep it all as three-dimensional as I could and still keep the story moving. 

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icedmochas4every1 – Okay, so this review wasn't posted on ff.net, but rather sent to me as a PM at Animation Insider (for those who don't know, I'm kousotsu at AI). Thanks for the great response! I really appreciated everything you said!

So there you go. I appreciate all my readers, even those who don't review! I know you're out there! Just so you know, all you had to do to get mentioned above was leave one small review. I accept anonymous reviews so you have no excuse not to give me any feedback! It only takes a second, so go on. You can do it.

Incidentally, I have a small challenge for all of you. My favorite singer is James Taylor. Through the course of this fic, I made three allusions to three different songs of his. One is found inside of a chapter and is quite obvious. The other two are found in the chapter titles. These two require a bit of knowledge about James Taylor lyrics. So if you're a fellow JT fan, the hunt is on! First person to figure out what the three references are gets…uh, my undying love and respect.

Finally, I want to tell you all of some important news. One week from the day this chapter is posted I am going to be making some changes. This story has been in the R section up until now. When I decided on that rating, I thought it would be more violent than it was. So, I have decided to move this to the PG-13 section. Again, this change will take place exactly one week after this chapter is posted. That gives all of you time to read this chapter before it is moved. I just thought you should all know just in case you have not archived this story and you decide someday that you want to read it again. It will be in the PG-13 section under Action/Adventure.

I know that it's fairly common for people to write sequels to their stories. Furygrrl already mentioned the possibility of a sequel in one of her reviews. I have not decided if I'll be writing one or not, but right now I think it's a strong possibility. I do have a few ideas that I'm kicking around to form a plot. However, if I do ever write one, it will not be in the immediate future. I have some other ideas that I want to write first. If you're interested in seeing a sequel to Evolutionary Crisis, please let me know either by reviewing or in an email. Thanks.

And speaking of other ideas, one of them will be coming soon to ff.net! Keep your eyes open for _Scott Summers: Murderer?_ I've been waiting to get to write this for months and I'm really excited that I can now start it! I'll write about the first half of the story before I post anything, but keep your ears to the ground because it's coming soon!

Well, that's all I have to say. I thank you all for taking the time to amuse my little hobby and I hope to see you all again in the future! Farewell and take care!

-stAte


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